Grand Forks County approves Pentagon contract for UAS evaluation project
May 22—GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks County Commission approved a contract with the United States Department of Defense for unmanned aircraft system testing, development and research at Grand Sky during a special meeting Wednesday, May 22.
The commission also approved a contract with Grand Sky — the aviation park located near Grand Forks Air Force Base — to manage the contract's task orders and work with partners like the Northern Plains UAS Test Site. The contract is worth $2.48 million and has been in the works for more than a year.
"It's been determined through (the Department of Defense's) own processes that Grand Forks Air Force Base and Grand Sky are the best locations to conduct this type of research and performance," Grand Forks County Administrator Tom Ford said. "It would allow for the county to provide project management support from various UAS-related testing development research and deployment opportunities."
The research under the contract will explore the integration of UAS with U.S. air space. The research will also explore the uses of UAS and how it can access and interact with the workflow and safety of airspace and air traffic control. According to the contract, the findings of the research will help federal agencies, like the Federal Aviation Administration, with the development and changes in demands of U.S. airspace.
The contract joins other UAS and aeronautics work at Grand Sky done by Northop Grumman and General Atomics Aeronautical. The development is a partnership between the Air Force, the county and Grand Sky to foster research and development in the UAS industry.
Ford told the Herald in March
that the county had been in conversations with the Department of Defense about how the federal government can use infrastructure at Grand Sky. The infrastructure has been in place since 2022.
