Air, FAA

FAA Designates Two New UAS Test Sites in Oklahoma and Indiana

By Inside Unmanned Systems
Image: Ana Henderson, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground.

Announced January 8, 2026, the new sites are: 

  • The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
  • Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC)

They are the first additions to the FAA’s UAS Test Site program in nearly a decade and will become the eighth and ninth sites in the network. 

Role of the UAS Test Site program

The FAA’s UAS Test Site program provides designated locations where public and civil unmanned aircraft and related technologies can be developed, tested and evaluated under controlled conditions. Data from these sites is used to inform rulemaking and operational policy for integrating drones into the National Airspace System (NAS). 

According to the FAA, current and planned research at the test sites supports:

  • Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations
  • Increasingly autonomous and multiple-UAS operations
  • Advanced air mobility and other advanced operations
  • Safety and security analysis tied to new drone concepts of operation

The agency notes that the expanded network is intended to help “assess emerging technologies” and “inform safety and security” as UAS operations scale. 

The announcement follows the Department of Transportation’s publication of a proposed BVLOS rule in August 2025, which aims to significantly expand use cases for commercial and public drone operations while maintaining safety in the NAS. 

Existing and new test site locations

With the new designations in Oklahoma and Indiana, the FAA UAS Test Site network now includes nine locations: 

  • Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (Alaska)
  • Northern Plains UAS Test Site (North Dakota)
  • New Mexico State University UAS Test Site (New Mexico)
  • State of Nevada UAS Test Site (Nevada)
  • New York UAS Test Site (New York)
  • Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi Autonomy Research Institute (Texas)
  • Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (Virginia)
  • Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma UAS Test Site (Oklahoma)
  • Indiana Economic Development Corporation UAS Test Site (Indiana)

The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 authorized the Administrator to designate up to two additional UAS test ranges, a provision this decision now implements. 

Focus areas for Choctaw Nation and Indiana

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Indiana Economic Development Corporation sites are expected to complement work already underway at the existing test ranges, providing additional geographic diversity, operating environments and community partnerships. 

The FAA describes the network’s overall purpose as helping “facilitate the safe commercialization of drone technologies, advance the full integration of UAS into the NAS, and help reshape the future of aviation.” 

Policy context

The announcement aligns with ongoing federal efforts to expand U.S. UAS testing infrastructure and enable more complex operations such as routine BVLOS flights, cargo missions, and advanced air mobility concepts. At the same time, broader federal policy discussions continue around supply chain security, domestic production and national-security considerations for UAS platforms and components.

For industry and public-sector operators, the additional test sites provide more opportunities to conduct flight testing and data collection within an FAA-approved framework, particularly for operations that go beyond today’s standard small UAS Part 107 framework.

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