The Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS), a North Dakota state agency, announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has signed a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) for the use of Vantis as a safety mitigation for beyond-visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone operations.
In the United States, approval under an exemption provides for repeatability and can be referenced for future approvals, accelerating the path to recurring BVLOS flights for all drone operators. The LOA allows for the use of Vantis for drone operations pursuant to that exemption. This means that commercial drone operators can use Vantis services, like collision avoidance, in their safety Concept of Operations (ConOps) to fast-track the waiver process.
“This comprehensive approach moves away from relying solely on operational restrictions, focusing on systemic risk management,” said Jeff Richards, ATM Operations Expert at Thales, the technology partner for Vantis. “Vantis acts as the operational backbone, providing operators with a level of support and safety that can be referenced directly as a risk mitigator for commercial BVLOS operations.”
The LOA can also be used to document FAA’s review of the Vantis system for these operations and may be submitted as an artifact for future operators seeking to fly the same ConOps. The LOA can be leveraged as part of a safety case for different ConOps but may require further evaluation or demonstrations. While the LOA does not itself guarantee future approvals or authorizations, the FAA may use it in the analysis in support of other exemptions or waivers.
“Requiring commercial UAS operators to bring their own infrastructure is costly, time-consuming, and doesn’t scale,” said Erin Roesler, Deputy Executive Director for Vantis. “Vantis is the solution: a shared-use suite of services to support repeatable and scalable UAS operations.”
“This LOA enables us to expand our operations to perform BVLOS flights in Vantis service volumes,” said Doug McDonald, General Manager, ISight. “This both enhances our operational capabilities and the value we deliver to our customers.”
