Beyond line of sight drone flights approved in North Dakota

uAvionix, an avionics company that specializes in drones, has received FAA approval to conduct beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) small unmanned aircraft flights in North Dakota.

uAvionix, with support from the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, demonstrated to the FAA that it has established adequate risk mitigations to satisfy required safety standards for the specified BVLOS operation in the National Airspace System, company officials said.

North Dakota leads the way in bringing drones to commercial sectors safely and economically with Vantis, a system developed in partnership with the Northern Plains UAS Test Site and Thales USA. Vantis allows pilots to command and control the drone and remain clear of other aircraft when flying beyond visual line of sight. It consists of ground-based aviation infrastructure, like that used in traditional aviation, which significantly lowers the barrier of entry to BVLOS flights for multiple users, uAvionix officials explained.

“This first-of-its-kind approval for our partners is a critical step that validates our state’s investment and years of work to bring UAS aircraft to commercial sectors in a safe and economic way,” said North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. “Other states are reaching out to us as a national leader in UAS.”

“We are incredibly proud to lead the way in North Dakota with our partners from Vantis and Thales,” said Christian Ramsey, uAvionix president. “Being able to demonstrate much of our ecosystem in approved BVLOS flight is a major milestone for our company, our partners, and the broader aviation ecosystem.”

“Vantis was designed to serve many drone operators across multiple sectors,” said Trevor Woods, executive director at the Northern Plains UAS Test Site. “This first approval is an important milestone for Vantis as a blueprint for widespread commercial BVLOS enablement.”