U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced Friday the Federal Aviation Administration has awarded $7.5 million in grants to universities for research into unmanned aircraft systems.
Part of the agency’s Air Transportation Center of Excellence (COE) for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), also known as the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE), the grants will be used for research, education, and training for drone operation.
“This $7.5 million federal investment will fund university research on the safe integration of drones into our national airspace,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.
The agency said there are currently 1.65 million recreational and commercial drones in the UAS fleet, but that number is expected to grow to as many as 2.31 million by 2024.
The third round of funding for ASSURE grants this year, the latest announcements bring to more than $13 million in funding for COE grants this year.
Grants included $1.5 million for Mississippi State University for validation of Low-altitude detection and avoidance standards; $1.4 million in total for five universities, including $401,999 to the lead university the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, for research into safety risks and mitigations for UAS operations on and around airports: and nearly $1.2 million for four universities, including $450,000 for lead university Wichita State University, for urban air mobility safety standards, aircraft certification, and market feasibility.
The UAS is just one of 12 Centers of Excellence established by the FAA. Others include alternative jet fuels and environment, general aviation safety, commercial space transportation, airliner cabin environment, aircraft noise and aviation emissions mitigation, advanced materials, general aviation research, airworthiness assurance, operations research, airport pavement and technology, and computational modeling of aircraft structures.