NORMAN, Okla., 26 March 2013. Hundreds of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) engineers and executives are in Norman, Okla., today attending the annual Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Summit hosted by the Unmanned Systems Alliance of Oklahoma (USA-OK).
James Grimsley, president of USA-OK, kicked off the UAS Summit this morning before turning over the podium to Dr. Stephen McKeever, the Secretary of Science and Technology for Oklahoma and the vice president for research at Oklahoma State University (OSU).
McKeever was instrumental in the Oklahoma Department of Commerce (ODOC) submitting an FAA UAS test site proposal, called an SIR, for the region. ODOC is the official applicant, but the effort includes a variety of organizations from the public sector, including Oklahoma National Guard (OKNG), OSU, Oklahoma University (OU), OSIDA, and Oklahoma State University Miltispectral Labs (UML).
More than 50 applicants from more than 30 states are applying to become an FAA UAS test site, McKeever estimates. FAA officials will select six test sites in the U.S. to help advance technologies, policies, and procedures that will lend to the safe and efficient integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the National Air Space (NAS).
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