Grand Forks North Dakota UAV industry making big strides

Al Palmer, the head of UNDʼs unmanned aircraft research center, can talk pretty fast, but ask him how his industry is doing here in the Grand Forks region and it takes him two hours over two interviews to get everything out.

By: Tu-Uyen Tran, Grand Forks Herald

Al Palmer, the head of UNDʼs unmanned aircraft research center, can talk pretty fast, but ask him how his industry is doing here in the Grand Forks region and it takes him two hours over two interviews to get everything out.

Where does he even start?

From progress toward a test site where unmanned and manned aircraft can mix safely — critical for research and development — to a training contract with a European air force, to partnerships with North Dakota State University and businesses, Palmer ticked off one after another.

Others in the industry had plenty to say, too, mentioning the growing interest of major unmanned aircraft makers, emerging local businesses and maturing research programs. One UND project to use unmanned aircraft in precision agriculture is scheduled for real world testing at some area farms this summer.

“We have the start of an unmanned aircraft system cluster in Grand Forks,” said Chamber of Commerce President Barry Wilfahrt. He said he expects testing and training would emerge as key sectors.

Recently, the state Aeronautics Commission estimated that the unmanned aircraft industry had a $27.1 million economic impact and employed 231 statewide in 2010, mostly in Grand Forks. Thereʼs still room to grow, but the industry here has come pretty far since it started essentially from scratch a few year ago.

Teal Analysis UAV Industries Represent Key Targets of Acquisition

Paris, June 15, 2009  

"Unmanned Aerial Vehicles represent a prime area of acquisition interest for major aerospace contractors, report Teal analysts in their latest integrated market analysis.

"UAVs are one of the most active areas for acquisitions by defense companies," said Philip Finnegan, Teal Group's Director of Corporate Analysis. "The sector has the advantage of being a high growth area and having a number of small producers available for purchase." As a result, UAVs rank with intelligence, cyber security, homeland security and logistics as one of the most attractive for acquisitions." 

This  economic miracle has visited Oregon  

Insitu - Cloudcap Technologies  in the Gorge 

The Commodity is Available Land

The following is from the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News  -  It illustrates the natural advantage Central Oregon offers to UAV Companies.  Airspace over sparsely populated ground.

Central Oregon has a lot of  "Compatible Airspace"

UAV advocates want test-flying airspace closer

DAYTON — Supporters of efforts to establish the Dayton region as a national center of training, education and product development for unmanned aircraft say that persuading the government to approve airspace for flying the unmanned craft near this area is critical.

Being able to test-fly unmanned aerial vehicles and their systems near where research, development and integration of those systems takes place is a key as the Miami Valley tries to sharpen its capabilities to support Air Force acquisition of UAVs that are managed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, business leaders said. Advocates are hoping that the industry could lead to new jobs for the region.

“Having compatible space — that’s the holy grail that’s the key to breaking into having a significant chunk of the UAV industry,”

said Joe Zeis, chief strategist and a vice president of the Dayton Development Coalition.