Oct. 29—GRAND FORKS — GrandSky has seen a surge in interest surrounding its facilities in the weeks following Grand Forks' annual UAS Summit.
"It's created a lot of interest in the industry and, by default, the Department of Defense," said Chris Hewlett, the aviation park's director.
Grand Forks took center stage at the summit earlier this month when U.S. Sen. John Hoeven announced the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, which is housed at GrandSky,
would be the first in the country with unrestricted access to federal radar data.
Since then, Hewlett and others say they've received new interest from defense contractors looking to conduct flight tests, demonstrate new counter-UAS technology or even set up shop at GrandSky.
GrandSky Engagement Director Scott Meyer told the Herald that one defense company was visiting GrandSky last week, with another set to tour the facility in November. Meyer declined to name either company.
"The summit was a very successful event for our group and we're excited about the opportunities," Meyer wrote in an Oct. 16 text message.
Much of that interest is linked to Project ULTRA,
the $18.25 million public-private partnership meant to explore new military applications
for drone technology.
Hewlett said he's principally received outreach from equipment manufacturers hoping to use the program to get their UAS technology in front of federal officials.
A spokesperson for Hoeven said the senator has met with companies interested in GrandSky and Project ULTRA and expected to announce new partners in the coming weeks.
Hewlett said some of those equipment manufacturers have also expressed interest in setting up production facilities in Grand Forks or North Dakota more broadly, pointing to the ample amount of undeveloped land and the human capital offered by the University of North Dakota.
"I don't know if it would be at GrandSky or it would be someplace else," Hewlett said. "That's a real estate deal, that's not what I do. But those are the conversations that are starting to happen."
GrandSky currently consists of some 270 acres of federal land leased to Grand Forks County, Hewlett said, most of which is still undeveloped.
The new agreement between Northern Plains and the Federal Aviation Administration could also draw more companies to the aviation park.
The test site, essentially a state-run UAS research and development program, is charged with developing a platform to fly manned and unmanned aircraft in the same airspace.
Northern Plains Executive Director Trevor Woods said he expected the new project to draw more companies to GrandSky but said that was "highly speculative" since the test site doesn't know when it will be able to share its platform with private companies.
"Will companies express their interest in working with us or working with the FAA because it helps them achieve their mission? We think that will be the case, but we're still a ways out from being able to explore that," he said.
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