ROME — As they took flight at the end of the ceremony, two drones stretched out a ribbon that officials would cut to formally open the $13 million Skydome at Griffiss International Airport in Rome. Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente, Jr. and Hope Knight, president, CEO, and commissioner of Empire State Development, handled the ribbon […]
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ROME — As they took flight at the end of the ceremony, two drones stretched out a ribbon that officials would cut to formally open the $13 million Skydome at Griffiss International Airport in Rome.
Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente, Jr. and Hope Knight, president, CEO, and commissioner of Empire State Development, handled the ribbon cutting.
Skydome is located in a former airplane hangar and is described as the “largest indoor drone test facility in the nation,” the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a July 14 release. The office also described Skydome as a “transformational investment” in New York’s unmanned aircraft systems [UAS] test site at Oneida County.”
Skydome will support collaborative efforts between the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate (Rome Lab) and the New York UAS test site, leveraging the region’s high tech commercial and academic ecosystem supporting the development of technologies for small, unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) to operate safely and securely in the national air space, per Hochul’s release.
“It will support collaborative-research efforts between the test site and the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome,” Picente said in his remarks during the July 14 ceremony. “As a one-of-a-kind facility, we know the demand for this facility is strong with customers from all over the world.”
Oneida County created and developed the $13 million project, which includes $4 million in county funding. In addition, the state provided a $4.5 million grant from the CNY Rising Upstate Revitalization Initiative and $4.5 million grant from the Mohawk Valley Upstate Revitalization Initiative.
New York State Senator Joseph Griffo (R–Rome) also secured a $950,000 grant for the facility.
“The advancements that are taking place here are further cementing the region’s status as a hub for innovation and they will help grow the regional ecosystem for emerging … technology,” ESD’s Knight said in her remarks at the event. “Drone technology is truly cutting-edge technology with a growing list of uses and applications from e-commerce to public safety. The Skydome will be a game changer for this region and for the industry and it represents another win in the Mohawk Valley and for this region to be recognized as a global power.”
Picente also provided this observation in Hochul’s announcement about the Skydome project.
“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 investment in Oneida County, and further demonstrates why we have one of the most robust and diverse economies in the Northeast,” Picente contended. “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.”
With the completion of Skydome, New York state is now home to the largest indoor anechoic chambered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) experimentation facility in the U.S., Hochul’s office said. It will provide year-round, indoor testing of advanced drone technologies, including artificial intelligence-based flight controls and “autonomous swarms” of small drones.
Oneida County works in partnership with Syracuse–based NUAIR, which oversees the 50-mile drone corridor between Rome and Syracuse, Picente noted. The drone corridor is helping to find ways to safely integrate drones into the nation’s airspace.
“NUAIR has been managing the New York UAS Test Site since the [Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-designation] over 10 years ago and we continue to have a great collaborative partnership with the State, Oneida County and surrounding organizations,” Ken Stewart, CEO of NUAIR said. “With our 50-mile drone corridor, bespoke private 5G test range, and [now the] addition of Skydome, Central New York continues to be the leading destination for UAS and Advanced Air Mobility companies to land and expand their operations.”
In her remarks at the grand-opening event, Rome Mayor Jacqueline Izzo said the region’s been working to “solidify our relationship” with the Air Force Research Laboratory and “strengthen its ties to our community.”
“And we make sure that the Air Force and the [U.S.] Department of Defense understand this lab’s relevance to the overall mission. And I think today, with the opening of this facility; the commitment of our state, county, local governments … it was drawn on paper, but to see it come to life now is truly amazing and it is a unique facility. And it will allow the lab to come over and do classified and non-classified testing here. It’ll allow other people to come from around the country to this FAA test site to do things that are unique to the unmanned aerial systems,” Izzo said.