Rome drone test site reauthorized: Why does it matter?

Local business and elected leaders often say that the future of the Mohawk Valley’s prosperity rests heavily in three high-tech areas: nanotechnology, cybersecurity and drones.

But a key part of the regional drone infrastructure — the New York Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Test Site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome — risked losing its federal designation as one of only seven testing sites for drones in the nation.

The five-year Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, signed into law by President Joe Biden on Thursday, contains a measure to extend that designation for five more years.

And the inclusion of that measure was thanks to the advocacy of New York Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, according to a statement from Schumer’s office. The extension matters because it will ensure that the region can remain a global leader in the field and help to pioneer the safe integration of drones into national airspace, Schumer said.

“As one of only seven test sites in the country, the innovation and research being done at Griffiss in Oneida County is transporting the Mohawk Valley and Central NY to the next frontier of scientific innovation and was exactly what I had in mind when I secured (the designation) back in 2014 and extended it in 2018,” he said. “The sky is the limit for the Mohawk Valley.”

The test site, first designated in December 2013, is owned by Oneida County and operated by AX Enterprize. SkyDome opened at the site in July 2022 in a former World War II-era hangar converted into the nation’s largest indoor unmanned air systems test facility.

And the test site sits at one end of a 50-mile UAS Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight (BLVOS) corridor between Griffiss and Syracuse International Airport. It was the first corridor in which drones were allowed to fly out of sight of their operators.

“Over the past 11 years, Oneida County’s FAA UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport has led the drone industry in research and development and taken innovation to places never before seen,” Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr said in a statement. “We have revolutionized the capabilities of unmanned flights and made the New York Test Site the nation’s leader and a global epicenter.”

The FAA bill also includes $30 million over the course of five years for the seven UAS test sites and allows the FAA to designate two more UAS test ranges, according to Schumer’s release.

MC Chruscicki, co-founder of AX Enterprize, echoed Picente’s thoughts on the importance of the continuation of the test site designation.

“Oneida County’s NY UAS Test Site will continue to lead cutting edge collaborative research efforts with our military, homeland security and commercial partners,” he said in a statement. “This is a key step in supporting Oneida County, New York, our tribal nations and the United States to secure our country while integrating drones safely into our society.”

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Schumer fought to reauthorize UAS test site for drones at Griffiss