uAvionix participates in deployment of North Dakota’s statewide BVLOS network

November 19, 2020 | AUVSI News

uAvionix has announced its participation in the deployment of North Dakota’s statewide Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) UAS infrastructure and network, Vantis, which is led by the Northern Plains UAS Test Site.

uAvionix is a strategic partner to Thales’ TopSky Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) platform, so it is deploying terrestrial command and control (C2) infrastructure and a cloud-based C2 service, which enables centralized management, coordination, and C2 handoffs. In turn, this will enable BVLOS missions across the key-site deployment area of McKenzie County, North Dakota.

The C2 service leverages uAvionix’s microLink Airborne Radio Systems (ARS) and skyStation Ground Radio Systems (GRS) developed to ASTM standards. According to uAvionix, microLink and skyStation are dual-architecture MIMO digital frequency hopping radios that enable intelligent make-before-break (MBB) transitions from one GRS to the next in long-range operations, enhancing the overall safety case.

For Vantis, the C2 service monitors overall system performance, the health and signal strength of each radio on the network, location monitoring and tracking, and centralized control.

“Thales is excited to partner with uAvionix in North Dakota to deploy a BVLOS C2 network infrastructure and service,” says Frank Matus, director of Digital Aviation Market Development for Thales.

“uAvionix achievements in the areas of surveillance and TSO avionics is instrumental in addressing the command and communications challenges faced by the emerging UAS industry in North Dakota and across the national airspace system.”

Through the deployment of its pingStation networkable ADS-B receivers, uAvionix is also contributing to the overall low-altitude airspace surveillance picture. By providing networks such as Vantis with infrastructure and certified low Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) avionics for mission-critical applications, uAvionix is advancing its mission to overcome operational and technical challenges of UAS integration into global airspace, the company says.