FAA picks Mississippi State University to test drones

Working with other universities, the MSU center will focus on research, education and training in safety and integration of UAS into the nation’s airspace.

   The U.S. Transportation Department’s Federal Aviation Administration has selected a Mississippi State University team as its Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (COE UAS). 
   The center will focus on research, education and training in safety and integration of UAS into the nation’s airspace, the agency said.
   “We expect this team will help us to educate and train a cadre of unmanned aircraft professionals well into the future,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement. 
   The center’s research is expected to evolve over time, but initially will include detect-and-avoid technology; low-altitude operations safety; control and communications; spectrum management; human factors; compatibility with air traffic control operations; and training and certification of UAS pilots and other crewmembers, in addition to other areas.
   “This team has the capabilities and resources to quickly get up and running to help the FAA address the demands of this challenging technology over the next decade,” FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said.
   FAA expects the center at Mississippi State will be able to begin research in September and be fully operational by January 2016. FAA was mandated to establish the center under the 2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act. 
   Congress appropriated $5 million for the five-year agreement with the center, which will be matched one-for-one by the team members.
   In addition to Mississippi State, the other team members are Drexel University, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Kansas State University, Kansas University, Montana State University, New Mexico State University, North Carolina State University, Oregon State University, University of Alabama at Huntsville, University of Alaska in Fairbanks, University of North Dakota, and Wichita State University.
   FAA expects flight testing to occur at one or more of the existing test sites.