Huntsville International Airport asked and has received.

This week the Federal Aviation Administration announced Huntsville International Airport has been selected as one of the four airports to host the agency’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems research test site program.

“We applaud this decision by the FAA and look forward to hosting a test site at our airport,” said Huntsville International Airport CEO, Rick Tucker. “We are grateful to our partner UAH, to industry partners like COLSA, QuantiTech. and Dynetics, and to city, county and state leadership for their support and vital roles in this endeavor.

“We especially want to express our appreciation to Senator Richard Shelby for his efforts regarding HSV’s selection and for his continued support of Huntsville International Airport as we both work to move Alabama forward.”

Under the program, the FAA will test technologies and systems that could detect and mitigate potential safety risks posed by unmanned aircraft. The testing will begin this year.

Touting their extensive community support for Unmanned Aircraft Systems capabilities (aka “drones”); Redstone Arsenal’s UAS capabilities both militarily and commercially; and the concentration of high-tech academic and industry resources focused on UAS research; Huntsville International in partnership with the University of Alabama in Huntsville, submitted a proposal last fall to the Federal Aviation Administration for why HSV should host one of four FAA testing and evaluation sites for Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

The initial testing will be at the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center, adjacent to the Atlantic City (N.J.) International Airport. The FAA will then expand to Huntsville International; Syracuse (N.Y.) Hancock International Airport; Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio; and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Jerry Hendrix director of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Programs at UAHs Rotorcraft Systems Engineering and Simulation Center

Jerry Hendrix, director of UAH’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems programs. (Photo/UAH)

“UAH is proud to be a research partner with the Huntsville International Airport …,” said UAH President, Dr. Darren Dawson. “UAH will leverage its creative and innovative spirit to advance research in UAS operational and threat applications for the FAA as a committed research partner.”

According to Dr. Bob Lindquist, UAH vice president for Research and Economic Development, Jerry Hendrix in UAH’s Rotorcraft Systems Engineering and Simulation Center has been working with the airport on the project for more than two years.

“This project will allow UAH to leverage its Unmanned Aircraft Systems expertise and engage with the FAA and aviation organizations with superior UAS engineering, research, integration and test capability from across the United States,” Lindquist said.

“UAH is becoming a national leader in UAS research with our UAS work with ASSURE, NASA, DHS and DOD research, and our ever-expanding technology exploration in this area.”