U.S. Reps John Katko (R-NY), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) recently wrote to President Donald Trump, the Department of Transportation, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), asking for support in New York’s application to receive the new FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program (IPP).
“The unmanned aerial systems industry has the potential to generate great economic growth in our region,” Katko said. “The cutting-edge work being done at the NUAIR test site at Griffiss International Airport and in the UTM Corridor from Rome to Syracuse makes our state an international leader in UAS innovation and integration. Being selected as an IPP site will only further our region’s ability to create new jobs, attract businesses, and strengthen our economy.”
The IPP offers a chance for governments at all levels to partner with elements of the private sector to integrate drones. Commercial UAS operations, as well as local and national connections, are expected to be affected by the program, which will also provide usable information to the Department of Transportation on the expanded integration of such systems into the National Airspace System (NAS).
“Griffiss International Airport and the NUAIR Alliance are vitally important regional assets,” Tenney said. “As the premier UAS test site, Griffiss and our region have the talent and infrastructure necessary to support the IPP site. Securing the designation as an IPP site will bolster our Upstate economy and attract cutting-edge, high-tech companies to our area.”
New York’s proposal has the backing of more than 60 municipalities, businesses, tribes, state authorities and state agencies, as well as the partnership of the NUAIR Alliance, which operates the UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport.
“If New York is successfully selected as an IPP site, it will spur the creation of hundreds of needed, quality jobs in our region,” Stefanik said. “Specifically, in my district, it will help the Department of Environmental Conservation monitor important conservation efforts, emergency management, land surveillance, and public safety in our treasured Adirondack Park.”