New BVLOS Airspace Management Facility Launches & Begins Operations in Ohio

AV & CAL Analytics partner with the U.S. Air Force and Ohio Department of Transportation to establish a premiere test environment for autonomous missions

Story and Image Credit: Olivia Hannam
aaminternational.com

A new Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) airspace management facility has reached initial operation at the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence in Springfield, Ohio.

The installation is the result of a partnership between AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) and CAL Analytics, following an initial project developed under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Ohio Department of Transportation. The facility integrates AV’s command and control architecture with CAL Analytics’ advanced air mobility platform to create a secure environment where operators can conduct missions in shared airspace using existing Federal Aviation Administration ground radar feeds.

This system serves as a blueprint for the safe integration of uncrewed aircraft into national airspace. By fusing ground radar and surveillance sensors into a single operating picture, the technology provides the situational awareness required for predictable mission planning and airspace safety.

Wahid Nawabi, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer at AV, commented, “This installation establishes the blueprint for how airports and states across the country can safely integrate uncrewed aircraft into existing airspace. As the FAA defines the future of BVLOS rule-making, this facility provides the real-world operational data, safety validation, and interoperability framework regulators need. The system we’ve installed in Ohio isn’t just a mock-up or a test site — pending FAA approval it will be an operational and scalable model for nationwide deployment and the foundation for truly integrated air mobility.”

The software architecture acts as the central hub for the system, turning various sensor feeds and platforms into a unified airspace view. This enables detect-and-avoid capabilities and allows for autonomous operations to be scaled from a single site to larger statewide corridors.

Stephen Lloyd, Senior Director C2, CUAS, and Tracking at AV, stated, “AV_Halo is the connective tissue that turns a collection of sensors, radars, and platforms into a living, breathing airspace system. By fusing FAA ground radar, and COTS surveillance sensors into a single, secure operating picture, AV_Halo delivers the assured visibility and machine-speed decision support needed for predictable BVLOS operations—and makes it possible to scale effortlessly from a single site to an entire statewide corridor.”

In addition to technical validation, the facility is designed to support economic development and the shaping of national integration standards. It provides a foundation for a new layer of transportation infrastructure intended to change the movement of goods and critical services.

Dr. Sean Calhoun, Managing Director of CAL Analytic, added, “Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations are the key to unlocking the next generation of air mobility. This facility will prove that BVLOS can be executed safely and reliably in shared airspace—and that matters because it sets the foundation for statewide corridors, national standards, and an entirely new layer of transportation infrastructure that will reshape how we move people, goods, data, and critical services across the country.”

Future plans for the project include extending the system to create flight corridors between Springfield and Columbus. This expansion will involve adding new radar sites and increasing detect-and-avoid coverage to support broader operations across Ohio and other locations nationwide.

… notes from SP

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