FAA extends designation of Oneida County’s UAS test site

ROME — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended the designation for the New York UAS test site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome until 2028. The extension was part of the FAA reauthorization bill that the U.S. Senate approved, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) announced on May 16. The New York UAS test site at Griffiss International Airport is operated by AX Enterprize and owned by Oneida County. A UAS includes a drone and equipment used to control its flight. A drone is also referred to in the industry as an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV. The Griffiss test site is one of only seven UAS test sites nationwide, and the extension is vital for UAS research and development so the Mohawk Valley and Central New York can continue to advance UAS research, “pioneer safe UAS operations in our national airspace, and accelerate UAS industry economic development across the region,” per Schumer’s office. The FAA designation extension wasn’t the only headline generated at the test site in May. Upstate Medical University says it completed a key test flight for its drone program that advances the university’s goal of transporting time-sensitive materials, drugs and lab samples by drone throughout the region, per its June 26 announcement. Air Upstate, the university’s drone program, flew its first beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight from the pilot at the UAS test site in Rome to New York’s Homeland Security Training Center in Oriskany on May 22. The 18.6-mile round-trip flight took 18 minutes and 20 seconds.

“We think that’s a big piece of the future,” Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente, Jr. says, referring to the Air Upstate BVLOS flight and its potential impact on the region’s health-care system. Picente spoke to CNYBJ in a July 10 phone interview. “There’s going to be some great achievements in terms of delivery of meds, of blood, of other critical pieces that could help save lives,” he adds. In speaking about the test flight, Picente went on to say, “It centers around what we envisioned when entered into the competition 11 years ago to become one of the seven federally accepted test sites and the [FAA designation] renewal is big news.” With the passage of the FAA bill, Oneida County and Griffiss will be able to carry out and update a program for the use of UAS test ranges to enable development, testing, and evaluation activities related to UAS or their associated technologies and to support the safe integration of UAS into the national airspace system, per Schumer’s office. “This extension of Oneida County’s prestigious UAS test site designation at Griffiss Airport will ensure the Mohawk Valley and Central New York can soar to new heights on cutting-edge UAS technology. I fought to include this vital provision in the FAA bill I led to passage to ensure we continue to position the region to build on its global airspace leadership and to pioneer the safe integration of UAS into the national airspace,” Schumer said in the May 16 announcement. “As one of only seven test sites in the country, the innovation and research being done at Griffiss in Oneida County is transporting the Mohawk Valley and Central NY to the next frontier of scientific innovation and was exactly what I had in mind when I secured it back in 2014 and extended it in 2018. The sky is the limit for the Mohawk Valley.” The bill includes $30 million over five years for the seven UAS test sites around the nation and provides the FAA ability to stand up two additional UAS test ranges in addition to the existing ones. “I’m extremely appreciative of Senator Schumer’s support for the FAA Authorization of the UAS Test Sites that was codified in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Bill,” MC Chruscicki, co-founder of AX Enterprize, said in the Schumer announcement. “Oneida County’s NY UAS Test Site will continue to lead cutting edge collaborative research efforts with our military, homeland security and commercial partners. This is a key step in supporting Oneida County New York, our tribal nations, and the United States to secure our country while integrating drones safely into our society.”