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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Aurora Flight Sciences Expands Operations To Wise County, Virginia

08/01/2016
Aurora Flight Sciences will expand its operational testing of the Centaur Optionally Piloted Aircraft system to Lonesome Pine Airport in Wise County, Virginia.

According to company officials, Aurora aims to continue advancing the Virginia Unmanned Systems Commission's progress toward making the state a leader in the unmanned systems industry, while also establishing Wise County as a research, development and operational hub for unmanned aircraft systems.

Aurora will initially use the Centaur OPA system, a large UAS, to collect a variety of critical data for the state using advanced sensor technologies. It will also support the Mountain Empire Community College in developing the first of its kind Aerial Drone Geo-Spatial Mapping and Surveyors course.

For the new Wise County operations, Centaur will either be flown on-board by the pilot, or in the Hybrid mode with an on-board safety pilot. Some of the jobs targeted for Centaur include: mapping and survey; predicting and detecting forest fires; performing large-area inspections on roads, railroads, power lines, and waterways; performing mineral and vegetation mapping; and conducting emergency management operations.

With operations in both Virginia and West Virginia, Aurora has a vested interest in advancing unmanned flight operations in the Appalachian Region. The company has headquarters in Manassas, Virginia, and operates production plants in Bridgeport, West Virginia and Columbus, Mississippi.

"Aurora is poised to ensure Virginia takes the lead in the introduction of large unmanned aerial systems operating in the National Airspace System, and Wise County would be a great place to expand our capabilities and create jobs," said Jeff Harlan, Centaur Program Director at Aurora.

In addition to Fly Wisely Accelerator Corp, Aurora will also be partnering with Virginia-based strategic growth group Drone Airspace Management (DAM), and the County of Wise to establish Centaur service at the Lonesome Pine Airport.

Aurora is aiming to begin flight operations out of Wise County at the beginning of 2017. In addition to gravity measurement collection missions for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Aurora plans to provide Centaur to support Virginia geo-spatial work and other contracted services such as supporting Mountain Empire Community College's planned Aerial Drone Geo-spatial courses.

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