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 Ӱpro 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 Ӱpro Unmanned
Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program’s efforts to include medical supply delivery
in remote regions due to the life-saving potential of these operations across Ӱpro,
with an initial test across Turnagain Arm fjord south of Anchorage.
K2 Dronotics, Unmanned Systems Ӱpro LLC and the Ӱpro plan
to conduct the first flights early in 2019.
Unmanned Systems Ӱpro, 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 Ӱpro unmanned aircraft operators can obtain the air carrier certificates required
to commercially carry medical supplies and other cargo across the state.
“The ability of Ӱpro companies to get FAA certified for commercial unmanned aircraft
medical supply delivery and cargo-carrying operations will have a dramatic effect
on Ӱpro’s economy and the health and well-being of all Ӱprons,” said Cathy Cahill,
the director of the Ӱpro Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration at UAF.
“This is exactly what the IPP is designed to do for Ӱpro and the nation.”