Oneida County opens Skydome drone-testing facility in Rome

ROME, N.Y. — Oneida County unveiled its newest high-tech gem on Thursday when County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. announced the completion of Skydome, the nation’s largest indoor uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) testing facility.

Housed in a former airplane hanger in Griffiss Business and Technology Park, officials expect the drone-test facility to be a substantial investment in the state’s UAS Test Site in Oneida County.

“Like the Wolfspeed chip fab and the soon-to-be completed MVHS Wynn Hospital and Nexus Center sports complex, the opening of Skydome is another transformational project that will spur new jobs and investments in Oneida County and further demonstrates why we have one of the most robust and diverse economies in the Northeast,” Picente said in a news release. “From its inception, this ambitious county project set out to solidify Oneida County and New York State as the global epicenter for drone research and development and with today’s Skydome opening, we have done just that.”

Skydome will support collaborative efforts between the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate and the New York UAS Test Site to develop technologies for drones to operate safely and securely in the national air space.

Oneida County created and developed the $13 million project and received $4 million in funding from the county along with a $4.5 million grant from the CNY Rising Upstate Revitalization Initiative, a $4.5 million grant from the Mohawk Valley Upstate Revitalization Initiative, and a $950,000 grant secured by state Sen. Joseph Griffo.

Skydome makes New York home to the largest indoor anechoic chambered uncrewed aerial vehicle experimentation facility in the nation. It will provide year-round indoor testing of advanced drone technologies including artificial intelligence-based flight controls and autonomous swarms of small drones.

The building, owned by Oneida County, also houses the Innovare Advancement Center, where the Griffiss Institute devotes its efforts to the region’s innovation ecosystem in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, neuromorphic computing, nanoelectronics, quantum computing, and UAS. It also contains the Drone Command Center for the New York State UAS Test Site, one of only seven FAA-designated sites in the nation.

Other county initiatives at Griffiss International Airport include $15.5 million to replace the heat system and $5.6 million to create the Innovare Advancement Center.