uAvionix has announced that the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) Beyond Program has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations.

The Beyond Program will utilize uAvionix SkyLine™ Managed C2 and Detect & Avoid sensors on the Emerging Aviation Technology Center UAS Test Range. This will be the second BVLOS waiver by the FAA  combining uAvionix SkyLine software and SkyLink hardware in many months. Drone pilots operating at the CNO range will be able to leverage only an Electronic Observer while meeting requirements to remain well-clear of crewed aircraft while the uncrewed aircraft is out of the pilot’s visual range of sight. 

Approval Will Continue Innovation

“This approval is a major milestone for the Choctaw Nation’s Emerging Aviation Technology Center,” says James Grimsley, Executive Director of Advanced Technology Initiatives for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. “With this approval, we achieved a major milestone in the FAA Beyond program by enabling BVLOS test flights for our partners and customers by leveraging the permanently deployed hardware and software from uAvionix.” 

The approved waiver shows that uAvionix and the CNO have demonstrated to the FAA that the aircraft detect and avoid systems, procedures, and the control network meets the safety threshold for operations in the national airspace. The uAvionix SkyLine C2 management platform and pingStation3 dual-mode ADS-B receivers are key components of the system. 

Marcus Hartman, Aviation Operations Manager for CNO says, “Successfully demonstrating safe and controlled Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations is critical to meet the growing demand for the use of drones in everything from package delivery to search and rescue operations. Our collaboration with uAvionix establishes the Advanced Technology Center and the FAA Beyond program as key leaders for this important work.”

“We are incredibly proud to be a Beyond partner with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma,” says Christian Ramsey, uAvionix President. “This is our second waiver in two weeks based on our SkyLine and SkyLink technology stack and DAA sensor integration. Having this capability available at CNO enables our customers to conduct testing and demonstration in Oklahoma and will further serve as guidance for future applications leveraging this concept of operations.”