U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (New York) and Ron Wyden(Oregon) plan to submit an amendment on UAS to the FAA reauthorization bill, a two-year $35 billion legislative package. The amendment would establish 10 test sites in the National Airspace System for UAS. As of now, the bill proposes establishing four sites.
Schumer said his amendment would require at least one of the test sites to include a significant portion of public lands —which would benefit the selection Hancock Field Air Base in Syracuse, which has the largest training space in the Northeast and plans to conduct missions over Lake Ontario. The senator said the 10 test sites would be able to evaluate various ground-based “sense and avoid” radar systems that help drones avoid collisions with commercial aircraft.
If Schumer’s legislative move succeeds, it would help ensure the future of 1,215 jobs at the base in Mattydale and potentially lead to millions of dollars in radar research contracts for local defence companies.
Read the full story in the Syracuse News