Senator John Hoeven on January sixth introduced that Thread, previously referred to as Airtonomy, a North Dakota expertise startup, has acquired a $1.2 million award beneath the Air Drive Small Enterprise Innovation Analysis (SBIR) program to develop an unmanned aerial system (UAS) answer that may improve perimeter safety on the Grand Forks Air Drive Base (GFAFB). The award, which is being made by AFWERX, an arm of the Air Drive Analysis Laboratory (AFRL), will assist make sure the 5,773-acre base is protected in opposition to threats, intrusions and breaches, whereas liberating up sources to deal with further safety issues. As a member of the Senate Protection Appropriations Committee, Hoeven labored to advance the challenge, having:
- Secured funding for the Air Drive SBIR program in annual appropriations laws handed by Congress in March 2022.
- Met with Col. Nathan Diller, Director of AFWERX, on the UAS Summit in Grand Forks earlier this yr to make the case for North Dakota as an excellent location for the company’s initiatives.
“This challenge is all about enhancing the mission of the 319 Safety Forces Squadron on the Grand Forks Air Drive Base, enhancing the protection of their working situations and streamlining their operations,” mentioned Senator Hoeven. “By partnering AFWERX with Thread and using this area’s UAS experience, we’re working to make sure this essential base is safe in opposition to threats and may proceed to assist the unmanned ISR missions that our warfighters rely upon.”
“The North Dakota UAS ecosystem, lengthy supported by Senator Hoeven, is ripe for innovation, as a neighborhood expertise startup, the chance to broaden past power and utility sectors to serve the nation and impact significant change is extraordinary” mentioned Dr. Joshua Riedy, Founder and CEO of Thread.
At the moment, the 319 Safety Forces Squadron (319 SFS) at GFAFB deploys groups to manually patrol the bottom’s 13-mile perimeter, together with in distant sections of the bottom and through harsh climate situations. This method is time-consuming and takes consideration away from different pressure safety actions of upper concern. Accordingly, Thread will develop an autonomous flight routine for the bottom’s safety forces, which is able to higher allow the 319 SFS to observe the bottom perimeter, whereas enhancing the protection of the squadron members.
