North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring (left) and Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley pose with a drone on a recent trade mission to Israel. Elbit Systems, a Haifa-based technology company is collaborating with the Northern Plains UAS Test Site and North Dakota State University to fly the first large-scale, high altitude unmanned aircraft systems. (Special to The Forum) On North Dakota’s first trade mission to Israel, delegates met with Elbit Systems, a Haifa-based technology company that is collaborating with the Northern Plains UAS Test Site in Grand Forks and North Dakota State University to fly the first large-scale, high-altitude unmanned aircraft systems at one of six United States UAS test sites. The Northern Plains UAS Test Site will oversee flying Elbit’s Hermes 450 unmanned aircraft. Initial operations will focus on precision agriculture research such as collecting data to monitor and track herbicide-resistant weeds, crop stands, fertilizer needs and diseases, said Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley, who is chairman of the Northern Plains UAS Test Site and was part of the mission. “It gives growers the ability to inspect every square foot of their cropland,” he said. “We’re excited about that.” Testing will start in May and continue throughout the growing season […]

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