The University of Alaska and Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced that the University and State of Alaska will host the inaugural Global Autonomous Systems Conference (GASC) in Anchorage on Aug. 9-11, 2023. GASC is a three-day gathering that will include presentations from worldwide experts, conversations among policy and industry leaders, and opportunities to connect with visionaries in autonomous systems. The convening is sponsored by the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. ACUASI is one of the nation’s top drone research programs.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Merlin, the leading developer of safe autonomous flight technology for fixed-wing aircraft, a $1 million contract to demonstrate a highly automated flight control system in conjunction with a safety pilot. In partnership with the FAA designated University of Alaska Fairbanks UAS Test Site and Everts Air Cargo, the Merlin Pilot will be the first autonomy system integrated into the NAS. Flight trials will run along three test routes serving five destinations. All test routes originate from the FAA designated UAS Alaska test site in Q2 2023.

Robert McCoy, director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, was driving to the movie theater in Fairbanks on a Saturday in mid-February when his cellphone showed an incoming call.

It was from someone with the Department of Defense’s Alaskan Command, a person he knows well. The caller had a request: Could the Geophysical Institute help search for the remains of an airborne object shot down by an Air Force fighter jet over Alaska’s Arctic Ocean seven days earlier?

Absolutely.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska) – Alaska is the first state to be able to grant permission for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to operate and test with the aim of securing certification for national airspace flight. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted the waiver this week, which was requested by the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) in late 2020. Alaska is now the only state with the ability to allow UAS operations classified as research or development, including aircraft under 300 pounds, to be conducted in our UAS test-site airspace.

The Federal Aviation Administration has granted a regulatory waiver to the University of Alaska Fairbanks unmanned aircraft systems test site. The agency’s decision supports aircraft manufacturers and operators in proving the safety of their drones so they can be certified for flight in the national airspace system.The Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, ACUASI, a unit of the UAF Geophysical Institute, manages and operates the test site. ACUASI has become a national leader in implementing the safe operation and integration of unmanned aircraft.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks focuses on actionable research, and Alaska’s individuals and industries have noticed.

An unmanned aircraft owned and operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks flew from the general aviation area of Fairbanks International Airport on Sunday, a historic feat in the effort to safely incorporate such aircraft into controlled airspace.

The flight was the first civilian large drone operation from an international airport in Alaska.

Taking off from the airport’s general aviation runway, the Sentry aircraft flew in a designated flight pattern used for departures, arrivals and runway approach practice. It was controlled remotely by the UAF Geophysical Institute’s Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration personnel inside the ground control station near the far end of the airport’s East Ramp.

BEYOND is focused on advancing UAS operations in the National Airspace System.

Members of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) recently completed a high resolution map of the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway, Canada’s first all-weather road to the Arctic.

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS), often referred to as drones, are quickly becoming an important tool for many industries and agencies in the U.S. On Friday morning the Alaska State Troopers requested the help of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Syste

Pilots and scientists from the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration made the first official beyond-visual-line-of-sight flight approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.

UAS Integration Pilot Program partners achieve milestone during pipeline inspection operation.

A panel of witnesses explained to senators the challenges and potential solutions for securely using and regulating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones at a June 18 Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Security Subcommittee hearing