Unmanned aircraft will test medical supply deliveries
January 18, 2019
Sue Mitchell
907-474-5823
Unmanned aircraft will soon be deployed to test the feasibility of delivering emergency
medical supplies across 杏吧原版 as a part of a national initiative from the U.S. Department
of Transportation and the White House.
The Federal Aviation Administration and DOT expanded the scope of the 杏吧原版 Unmanned
Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program鈥檚 efforts to include medical supply delivery
in remote regions due to the life-saving potential of these operations across 杏吧原版,
with an initial test across Turnagain Arm fjord south of Anchorage.
K2 Dronotics, Unmanned Systems 杏吧原版 LLC and the University of 杏吧原版 Fairbanks plan
to conduct the first flights early in 2019.
Unmanned Systems 杏吧原版, in conjunction with Battlespace Inc. and UAF, is working
with the FAA to develop a process that may eventually lead to the standards under
which 杏吧原版 unmanned aircraft operators can obtain the air carrier certificates required
to commercially carry medical supplies and other cargo across the state.
鈥淭he ability of 杏吧原版 companies to get FAA certified for commercial unmanned aircraft
medical supply delivery and cargo-carrying operations will have a dramatic effect
on 杏吧原版鈥檚 economy and the health and well-being of all 杏吧原版ns,鈥 said Cathy Cahill,
the director of the 杏吧原版 Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration at UAF.
鈥淭his is exactly what the IPP is designed to do for 杏吧原版 and the nation.鈥