NUAIR Alliance deploys UTM system at drone test site in Rome

ROME, N.Y. — NUAIR Alliance and Griffiss International Airport in Rome say that they have implemented the UAS traffic management (UTM) platform from ANRA Technologies into the New York State UAS (unmanned-aircraft system) test site.

The UTM implementation “advances” the test site’s capabilities by “enhancing” multiple, simultaneous beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations that involve both manned and unmanned vehicles sharing the same airspace, NUAIR said in a news release.

NUAIR Alliance is short for the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, a Syracuse–based coalition of New York and Massachusetts aerospace and academic institutions. It is an organizational partner of CenterState CEO, the region’s primary economic-development organization.

The ANRA Technologies website says it has offices in Tysons, Virginia; Chevy Chase, Maryland; and in New Delhi, India.

ANRA Technologies also “enhances” tracking and supports network-based remote ID and detect-and-avoid capabilities.

“The implementation of ANRA’s technologies brings great agility and currency to the New York State UAS test site and keeps NUAIR on the path to bring the test site to full operational capability by early August of this year,” Major General Marke (Hoot) Gibson (ret), CEO of the NUAIR Alliance, said in the release. “ANRA joins our team of UAS service suppliers at the test site and has implemented world-class flight and range information management systems, significantly enhancing our UAS testing capabilities.”

Features of the ANRA UTM platform include flight planning and monitoring, command and control, separation assurance, airspace management, tracking of drones, reporting, and open interfaces to enable capabilities like remote ID. The platform is designed to integrate both participating and non-participating UAS into a single operational unmanned traffic-management system.

NUAIR Alliance hosted a two-day conference in January in which specific “real-world” scenarios were outlined. That conference included more than 40 UAS industry experts from 20 global companies, NUAIR said.

The scenarios included testing participating and non-participating UAS in the same airspace.

This testing scenario showcases the “commercial viabilities” of UAS, while highlighting the “technical challenges” of operating multiple UAS in shared airspace. The implementation of the ANRA UTM platform makes this testing capability a “reality” for the New York State UAS test site, the release stated.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com