Six FAA Test Sites
The 2012 FAA Act mandated the creation of six temporary test sites around the country, to research the issues relating to "civil" (commercial) and "public" (government, including military) UAS integration. 24 states were considered, and six were chosen by the FAA, 2013-2014. Since the FAA Act mandated that the testing should study issues related to both commercial and military UASs, some of the military/defense-contractor aspects of each program are highlighted here, especially where they overlap with DoD GBSAA (Ground Based Sense And Avoid) Test sites. This initiative is the primary, long term, military effort to demonstrate that DoD UAS can operate safely in the NAS. (Note: this information was accurate circa Jan. 2015. Many changes in personnel and sites have happened since then. Updates to follow...)
1) Alaska/Hawaii/Oregon
Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration
Director: Marty Rogers; Senior Director, Concurrent Technologies Corporation, (government/military contractor)
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/marty-rogers/58/a3a/460
Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex
Director: USAF Brigadier General Ro Bailey (retired); fmr. Commander, Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center "where she was responsible for executing the North American Aerospace Defense Command's integrated tactical warning and attack assessment mission, the U.S. Northern Command's homeland defense mission, and U.S. Strategic Command's space and missile warning support."
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/ro-bailey/8/7b6/a95
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosanne_Bailey
Military Sites:
- Poker Flats Research Range, AK
- Wainwright AFB, AK
- Oliktok Long Range Radar Site AK
- Oregon National Guard, Pendleton OR
2) Nevada
Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems
Business Director: Lt. Col. Warren Rapp, fmr. Commander of the 232nd Operations Squadron at Creech
Military Sites:
- Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada Test and Training Range, USAF Air Warfare Center
- Nevada National Security Site (Desert Rock Airport - adjacent to Creech AFB, major overseas drone command center)
- Area 51. Yes, Area 51. This NIAS report from mid-2014 refers to "Non-FAA UAS testing" at a location they only refer to as "R-4808". R-4808 happens to be the "Special Use Airspace" designation for Groom Lake, or Area 51, as it's popularly known.
- Creech AFB (DoD GBSAA Test site)
3) New York
NuAir Alliance
Founding CEO: USAF Major General Robert A. Knauff, New York Air National Guard Commander (deceased)
Director of Operations: USAF Colonel Anthony B. Basile, (Retired)
Executive Director: USAF Lt. Col. Lawrence H. Brinker, (Retired)
Military Sites:
- Grifiss AFB, NY
- Joint Air Base Cape Cod, MA
- Air Force Research Labs, Oneida NY
- Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, NY
- Fort Drum, NY (DoD GBSAA Test site)
4) North Dakota
Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site
Director: USAF Colonel Robert J. Becklund, currently Chief of Staff for Air, Joint Force Headquarters, North Dakota National Guard; fmr. Commander, 119th Wing
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/robert-becklund/57/951/382
http://www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/jointforce/jointexecutivecouncil/Becklund/Pages/default.aspx
"Col. Robert Becklund served most recently in the North Dakota National Guard and has recently returned from duty on the United States Air Force’s (USAF) Remotely Piloted Aircraft (USAF RPA) Task Force at the Pentagon. The USAF RPA Task Force consists of a select group of unmanned aircraft tactical and technical experts assigned to assist the USAF and Department of Defense leadership in forming policy and making acquisition and operational decisions related to the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance capabilities provided by Remotely Piloted Aircraft. As part of this duty, Col. Becklund participated in the Office of Secretary of Defense’s Unmanned Aircraft Airspace Integration Process Team."
http://governor.nd.gov/media-center/news/dalrymple-signs-executive-order-creating-northern-plains-unmanned-aircraft-systems
Military Sites:
- Grand Forks AFB (DoD GBSAA Test site)
5) Virginia/Maryland/New Jersey
Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership
Executive Director: Rose Mooney; fmr. Director of UAS Airspace Integration, Textron Systems (maker of military Shadow UAV, 20th largest federal govt. contractor)
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/rose-mooney/9/58/318
In 2009, Rose Mooney was the Textron representative on an early FAA Ground Based Sense and Avoid (GBSAA) test conducted at the US Marines Cherry Point Base involving her company's Shadow drone.
http://www.tc.faa.gov/its/worldpac/techrpt/tctn11-3.pdf
Director, UAS Test Site Maryland: Capt. Matt Scassero (retired); fmr. Vice Commander, Naval Air
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/matt-scassero/17/871/4b3
Military Sites:
- Naval Surface Warfare Center,
- Fort Pickett Army Base
6) Texas
Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence & Innovation
Executive Director, University of Texas at Arlington Research Institute: US Army Lt. General Richard Lynch (retired); fmr. Commander, 3rd Infantry Division; led 3ID during invasion of Baghdad, 2003. 2009 - 2011, founding Commander of IMCOM, the U.S. Army Installation Management Command Headquarters
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/rick-lynch/49/2a7/81
Director, Governor's Office of Aerospace, Aviation & Defense: Major Keith Graf, Texas State Guard, Liaison Officer to the Commander of the Texas Air National Guard
Military Sites:
- Kingsville 1 Military Operations Area
- Fort Hood/Robert Gray Army Airfield (DoD GBSAA Test site)
- Chase Field Range
"There will be no way
for the adversary to know what we're looking at, and we can see
everything."
Update: May 8th, 2015. A team of 15 university-based drone testing programs, (including NC State's NGAT program), has been selected by the FAA as the official "Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems". Read the press release here. Mandated by Congress in 2014, this designation includes funding and a five year schedule to continue research into integrating drones into the National Airspace System. The particulars of what type of testing will be conducted where has not been announced.
The newly-designated FAA "National Center of Excellence (COE) for Unmanned Aircraft Systems", otherwise know as "ASSURE" is headquartered at Mississippi State University, and its Executive Director is:
Air Force Major General James Poss (retired), Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.
http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/Display/tabid/225/Article/108037/major-general-james-o-poss.aspx
Maj. General Poss was in the news in 2011, as the official in charge of the development and deployment of the "Gorgon Stare" technology for Air Force drones.
"With the new tool, analysts will no longer have to guess where to point
the camera, said Maj. Gen. James O. Poss, the Air Force's assistant
deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
"Gorgon Stare will be looking at a whole city, so there will be no way
for the adversary to know what we're looking at, and we can see
everything."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/01/AR2011010102645.html
North Carolina's NextGen Air Transportation (NGAT) program, based at NC State University, has announced their specific role within the FAA "Center of Excellence", directed by General Poss:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/01/AR2011010102645.html
Three months later, after investigating the accidental killing of dozens of Afghan civilians by a Predator drone, he said this:
"Technology can
occasionally give you a false sense of security that you can see
everything, that you can hear everything, that you know everything,"
said Air Force Maj. Gen. James O. Poss, who oversaw the Air Force
investigation. "I really do think we have learned from this."
More on General Poss, and his role in developing future FAA domestic drone policy here.
North Carolina's NextGen Air Transportation (NGAT) program, based at NC State University, has announced their specific role within the FAA "Center of Excellence", directed by General Poss:
"NGAT
has led the State of North Carolina’s UAS efforts for the last three
years and will be the national team’s lead for Command and Control
Communications research."
https://news.ncsu.edu/2015/05/nc-state-team-selected-for-faa-unmanned-aircraft-center-of-excellence/
https://news.ncsu.edu/2015/05/nc-state-team-selected-for-faa-unmanned-aircraft-center-of-excellence/
Aside from its civilian application, 'Command
and Control Communications' is referred to militarily as 'C3' - "the
capability to acquire, process, and disseminate information across force
elements":
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/c3.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/c3.htm
