U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) on Oct. 31 met with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to continue building upon his work to utilize resources in North Dakota that advance the nation’s military priorities, such as counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and nuclear modernization.
Specifically, the senator met with William LaPlante, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, and leaders from the Northern Plains UAS Test Site and GrandSKY, a UAS-specific business and aviation park located at Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, to discuss opportunities for North Dakota to meet defense needs in unmanned aircraft and counter-UAS technologies.
“That’s exactly what today’s meeting is about, as well as highlighting a variety of potential partnerships between DOD, our UAS ecosystem, and private industry that will enable us to quickly test and field new counter-UAS capabilities.”
During the meeting, Sen. Hoeven discussed increasing the size and scope of Project ULTRA, a UAS initiative he established and secured funding for in May with the goal to leverage UAS technology, and to demonstrate a variety of UAS applications that will benefit Grand Forks Air Force Base, but also provide a template for UAS activities at installations across the country.
Sen. Hoeven has been advancing Project ULTRA as the funding vehicle to support counter-UAS development, saying the initiative can serve as a bridge between an existing DOD contracting vehicle and new counter-UAS capabilities being developed in the private sector.
He also discussed the opportunity to leverage the Northern Plains UAS Test Site’s access to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) unfiltered radar data feed to grow North Dakota’s UAS ecosystem. The data feed will allow unmanned aircraft operating under the test site to safely fly where other state’s test sites could not, serving as a strong draw for private industry to operate in the state, according to his staff.
“We’re working to build upon the initial $18 million contract and leverage the radar feed to attract more private industry partners to our state,” Sen. Hoeven said. “Project ULTRA and the FAA’s unfiltered radar feed are a tremendous opportunity for the DOD and North Dakota, giving our state a key role in developing, testing and demonstrating counter-UAS technologies, which are critically needed to ensure the security of our military facilities and personnel both at home and abroad.”
In addition to Sen. Hoeven and LaPlante, the meeting included Trevor Woods, executive director of the Northern Plains UAS Test Site; Chris Hewlett, director of Project ULTRA at GrandSKY; and Everett Dunnick, director of Special Programs at Northern Plains UAS Test Site.