Grand Forks, N.D. (KFGO) - North Dakota becomes the first state to operate drones that go out of sight.
Senator John Hoeven says the FAA has approved the Northern Plains Test site to use aircrafts that go beyond the visibility of the operator. Senator Hoeven has been working to secure this request that widens the opportunity to test and evaluate different locations.
He says this development will make North Dakota a more attractive place for agencies such as NASA, the Airforce and the Department of Homeland Security.
“We are very excited that this is happening as quickly as it was. We weren’t expecting any serious movement on this for a year or two honestly, for us it’s great, we’re born and raised in North Dakota most of us in this company. So we’re super excited to be able to do this testing in our own backyard,” said Alex Kube, Chief Strategy Officer at Botlink.
Previously, operators had to be stationed at about every mile to keep an eye on the drone.
This authorization will now allow the aircraft to fly on its own and get data faster.