Nevada FAA Test Site to Transition to University Control

The University of Nevada at Reno (UNR) has established a new program dubbed Nevada Autonomous to assume the management and advance the activities of the Nevada Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Test Site. The Test Site was one of seven nationwide designated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to serve as centers for the development and testing of autonomous aircraft, vehicles and systems. Nevada Autonomous will collaborate on projects developed through the Desert Research Institute and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. The new arrangement will leverage the research capabilities of the Nevada System of Higher Education in the areas of aeronautical, autonomous vehicle, and robotics research and improve the integration of UAS testing as a core activity. It will also continue to emphasize safety as well as to identify and facilitate testing opportunities with business, industry, and government agencies.

As part of UNR’s Nevada Center for Applied Research, Nevada Autonomous will benefit from business and industry connections as well as more than $32 million in grants, contracts, and donations the Center has secured since its inception in 2015. One of the goals of the Nevada Autonomous team is the establishment of a roughly 500-mile corridor between Reno and Las Vegas to be used for beyond-visual-line-of-sight aerial and vehicular testing. UNR was also recently named to one of four teams in the NASA University Leadership Initiative. This initiative includes Sierra Nevada Corporation as an industry partner and brings together university and industry talent to support NASA’s aeronautical research goals.