FAA, NASA Technology Innovations Foster Emergence of New Air Transportation System in ND
Air service development company and UND Aerospace spin-off, EASE LLC, has teamed with NASA and the FAA on a $1.3M project to upgrade North Dakota's airspace with the latest next-generation air traffic management technologies. This is one of the first steps in a broader effort by EASE to deploy cutting-edge airspace and airport infrastructures with the necessary communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) capabilities to facilitate the emergence of reliable, all-weather commercial air services connecting our region's small airports and public-use landing facilities to a new, more robust regional air transportation system.

In addition to FAA pilot advisory services pertaining to weather and air traffic, new services to be tested will include a radar-like flight monitoring capability to provide aircraft position reports in real-time. In addition to the civil aviation arena, it is anticipated that such technology innovations will find practical application in the context of U.S. border patrol initiatives involving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These upgrades will also prove useful in maintaining positive separation of military and civilian aircraft.

These high-tech airspace upgrades are among the first in the nation and are the very first in the Great Plains and Midwest region, which positions North Dakota among only a handful of other states in America conducting research and development capable of fostering the emergence of a next-generation air transportation system.

For more information: FlyWithEASE.com