FAA Awards $12 Million to 19 Companies for Drone Research Supporting Safe Airspace Integration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on October 5 that it has awarded $12 million to 19 companies for drone research and testing projects that will help safely expand drone operations in the National Airspace System.
The awards, made through the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Broad Agency Announcement Program, fund companies working with FAA-designated UAS test sites to test and evaluate detect-and-avoid, traffic management and identification technologies. Funded projects include General Atomics' ground systems to help drones avoid other aircraft, ANRA Technologies' tools connecting air taxi operations and vertiports, and DroneUp's secure drone identity verification.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the program gives the agency another way to work directly with industry and test-site partners, producing better data to identify operational challenges and inform safe integration. The FAA said the awards advance the Unleashing American Drone Dominance executive order by making full use of the UAS test sites.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：无人机飞行训练。摄影：美国土地管理局俄勒冈与华盛顿办公室，公共领域，来源：Wikimedia Commons / Photo: Drone flight training. Credit: Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
