New York will make an “initial” $5 million investment to help ongoing efforts to create a hub for unmanned-aerial system (UAS) “innovation” and manufacturing in upstate New York. The funding seeks to “support and grow the emerging” UAS industry in the upstate region, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Aug. 2. Unmanned-aerial systems are […]
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New York will make an “initial” $5 million investment to help ongoing efforts to create a hub for unmanned-aerial system (UAS) “innovation” and manufacturing in upstate New York.
The funding seeks to “support and grow the emerging” UAS industry in the upstate region, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Aug. 2.
Unmanned-aerial systems are also referred to as drones.
The hub will be “specifically supporting concepts originated by NASA,” Cuomo’s office said in a news release.
The concepts will include an “innovation” district dedicated to unmanned systems in a corridor between the cities of Syracuse and Rome, Cuomo’s office said. They’ll also include the planning and design of next-generation, unmanned-aerial, traffic-management infrastructure; and national UAS standardized testing and rating facilities.
“With the announcement of this significant investment, New York State is furthering its commitment to the efforts of focusing on this emerging field. We are determined to ensure that our state is well-positioned when it comes to the burgeoning unmanned-aircraft system industry,” Howard Zemsky, president, CEO, & commissioner of Empire State Development, said in Cuomo’s release.
The announcement follows Zemsky’s participation in a policy workshop on drones and the future of aviation that the White House Office of Science and Technology hosted Aug. 2.
The $5 million in funding launches New York’s commitment to growing the drone industry through the strategies outlined in the “Central NY Rising” plan.
Aerospace firms such as the DeWitt plant of Saab, the Salina location of Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT), and the Cicero–based SRC Inc., and regional organizations such as the NUAIR Alliance are supporting the effort, Cuomo’s office said.
The nonprofit NUAIR Alliance is short for Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance.
NUAIR operates a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-designated drone test site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome.
Further details on the investment and hub project will be released at the 2016 UTM Convention, which is scheduled for Nov. 8-10 at various sites in the Syracuse area and at Griffiss International Airport in Rome.
The details will focus on “how these assets and strategies will be bolstered to bring beyond visual line of site capabilities to New York State,” according to Cuomo.
The convention will feature keynote briefings from NASA on “technical capability level demonstration 2, in which many collaborators will participate this October.”
The Air Traffic Controls Association, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, Empire State Development, Onondaga County, Oneida County, CenterState CEO, the NUAIR Alliance, and Syracuse University are hosting the convention.
The future of UAS traffic-management standards, innovation, and technology is “poised to take root” in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley, Robert Simpson, president and CEO of CenterState CEO, said.
“This investment is among the first in the New York State’s multimillion dollar commitment through the CNY Rising plan to further develop this sector here. It’s validation that, with private-sector expertise, broad industry partnerships, and an FAA-designated test site, we have a leading role to play in the global development of the UAS industry,” said Simpson.
Simpson is also co-chair of the Central New York regional economic-development council.
The announcement also complements “Central NY Rising,” the region’s winning plan in Cuomo’s 2015 upstate economic-development contest that some media outlets dubbed, “Upstate Hunger Games.”
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com