A consortium of companies and universities in Alabama and Tennessee are hoping to develop a site where drones would be tested.
If approved, the facility could become one of only a half-dozen sites approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for research involving Unmanned Aerial Systems, more commonly known as drones.
Alabama and Tennessee have submitted a joint application in an effort to be selected as one of the six FAA UAS testing sites. Testing would be done at a site near Savannah, Tennessee.
Plans call for each of the FAA sites to be used to develop methods and systems to integrate UAS flights into the nation's airspace. The emphasis will be on commercial uses for drones, ranging from precision agriculture to environmental monitoring.
