Grand Forks County, GrandSky announce launch of Project ULTRA

May 24—GRAND FORKS — A new collaboration between the Department of Defense and the GrandSky aviation park seeks to boost national security and operational efficiency of unmanned aerial system operations.

Its long official name — Project UAS Logistics, Traffic, Research and Autonomy — is shortened to Project ULTRA.

According to a release from the office of Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., ULTRA is intended "to go from research to practice, and to demonstrate a variety of UAS applications that will benefit Grand Forks Air Force Base but also provide a template for UAS activities at installations across the country."

ULTRA will secure $2.5 million in fiscal 2023, with an open contract valued at up to $18.25 million in subsequent years.

Placing it at GrandSky — a 217-acre business park upon land owned by the federal government and leased to Grand Forks County — is ideal, Hoeven said. GrandSky is west of Grand Forks, adjacent to Grand Forks Air Force Base.

"Grand Forks is the right place for the Defense of Department to conduct cutting-edge UAS research and development and this contract is an important step in an exciting new chapter for UAS in North Dakota," said Hoeven, a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee. "Project ULTRA will demonstrate how UAS can be used to support everyday activities at Grand Forks Air Force Base and other military installations, including delivering supplies and inspecting base infrastructure as well as developing practical ways of securing military installations from UAS threats. This contract between the Department of Defense and Grand Forks County enables us to begin establishing new, real-life UAS projects at GrandSky and on the Grand Forks Air Force Base."

According to Hoeven's office, Grand Forks County approved the initial Defense Department contract. The county will then use the funding "to leverage the expertise of the Northern Plains UAS Test Site and GrandSky as well as the relationship with Grand Forks Air Force Base to advance traffic management, counter-UAS capabilities for DoD Bases and on-base applications for small UAS."

A statement from GrandSky's public relations staff said "the collaboration between Grand Forks County, GrandSky and other key partners ensures a comprehensive approach to advancing UAS technology. The Northern Plains UAS Test Site, a leader in autonomous technology solutions, will provide critical support in flight route modeling, UAS selection, and FAA coordination."

Tom Swoyer, GrandSky's president, said staff at the site "are grateful for this opportunity and looking forward to working with a very capable team."

"We appreciate Grand Forks County stepping up and supporting this effort and we will build on our already very strong partnership with the Northern Plains Test Site," Swoyer said. "We look forward to leveraging our current capabilities to accelerate the development of UAS-based delivery solutions, counter-UAS, and ultimately integrating it all with state-of-the-art UAS traffic management."

The GrandSky release listed five key objectives of ULTRA. They included:

* Enhance airspace situational awareness and traffic management within the National Airspace System through testing and evaluation of UTM and other traffic management systems.

* Develop reliable, replicable, and scalable logistical and supply delivery systems to remote military locations.

* Utilize Beyond Visual-Line-of-Sight capabilities to create scalable service models for various DoD installations.

* Integrate Small UAS capabilities to improve the quality of life for military personnel and their families.

* Develop sustainable and scalable counter-UAS technologies to enhance physical security measures at military facilities and to integrate cUAS technologies with traffic management.

"We are very pleased for Grand Forks County to be a part of Project ULTRA," David Engen, chairman of the Grand Forks County Commission, said in the statement sent to the media. "This contract builds on the investments the county has made in GrandSky and reflects the vested interest the county has in base retention and supporting the men and women who work and serve at Grand Forks Air Force Base. We are also pleased that the county can provide this service and support the team that will execute on this work."

Added Trevor Woods, executive director of the Northern Plains UAS Test site: "We are excited to work with our partners on Project ULTRA to operationalize these critical missions for the Department of Defense. Our work will lead to important improvements in logistics and traffic management, and with our team's prior experience enabling Beyond Visual-Line-of-Sight (BVLOS), we are continuing to accelerate capabilities for industry and defense."