Unmanned Systems Canada (USC) congratulates the UAS Centre of Excellence in Alma Quebec for having gained the approval of the Minister of Transport as a UAS Test Range able to support extensive Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) testing. In a recent industry survey conducted by USC, 65% of Canadian companies identified BVLOS capabilities as either very important or critical to their future business success. This milestone provides a significant facility in Eastern Canada to complement the UAS Test Range in Foremost Alberta to support the testing of new systems and concepts in partnership with the regulator, Transport Canada, and end-users.
The first flights have now commenced with Transport Canada exploring UAS operational concepts for the North, in partnership with Iqaluit-based Arctic UAV and the University of Fairbanks Alaska, operating the Griffon Aerospace Sea Hunter long-range UAS, supported by the Alma team.
Link to Transport Canada announcement:
https://www.canada.ca/en/transport-canada/news/2017/06/transport_canadaapprovesdronetestrangeinalmaqc.html
