The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it has awarded $12 million to 19 companies for drone research and testing projects that will help safely expand drone operations in the National Airspace System.
The awards were made through the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Program, which funds companies working with FAA-designated UAS Test Sites to test and evaluate technologies that support safe drone integration.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the program gives the agency another way to work directly with industry and test site partners on critical technologies, and will provide better data to help identify and understand operational challenges.
Participating companies include General Atomics, NAVMAR, SPS Aerial Remote Sensing, ANRA Technologies, DroneUp LLC, OneRadio Corporation, and others, per the announcement.
