In invitation to CEOs Bezos and McMillon, Brindisi and Picente tout Griffiss International Airport and New York UAS test site as ideal partners
Brindisi and Picente: Amazon and Walmart are looking to expand their drone technology, and Oneida County is the perfect place to do it.
Following recent news reports, Congressman Anthony Brindisi and Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente invited Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Walmart CEO Doug McMillon to consider Rome as a future drone-testing location. Amazon and Walmart both recently received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to establish drone fleets for unmanned package deliveries. The companies said widespread drone delivery is still several years away but began testing drones for delivery earlier this month.
Rome is home to the state Unmanned Aerial System test site at Griffiss International Airport, one of seven FAA-designated UAS test sites in the United States. Brindisi, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Picente offered to tour Griffiss International Airport with Bezos and McMillon to highlight the capabilities of the test site.
“When it comes to UAS technology research and development, Rome is second to none,” Brindisi said. “Amazon and Walmart are two of the most powerful companies in the world, and testing their drone technology at Griffiss International Airport would help give our Mohawk Valley economy a much-needed boost.
“As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I’ve seen the contributions of Rome to our national defense and UAS industry firsthand. This is the perfect opportunity for a public-private partnership, and I will continue to advocate for our Upstate economy.”
“Oneida County has been on the forefront of UAS development and advancement for years and our elite test site in Rome has become world-renowned for the extraordinary work that is being done there,” Picente said. “We’ve just recently been selected by the FAA to exclusively develop the next phase of drone traffic management, which would greatly benefit Amazon and Walmart in perfecting their automated delivery systems. I hope this invitation will encourage both to visit Oneida County and see all that we have to offer.”
In their letters, Brindisi and Picente touted Rome’s role in UAS research and development and encouraged Bezos and McMillon to keep Rome’s unique capabilities in mind when considering drone testing locations.
“We believe the NYS UAS Test Site, Griffiss International Airport, and their elite personnel would afford unique capabilities to [Amazon/Walmart] as you continue to develop the company’s drone capabilities and work to ensure they are able to safely integrate into the national airspace,” Brindisi and Picente wrote.
A full copy of the letters are below:
Dear Mr. McMillon,
As Wal-Mart continues to develop and refine its drone technology and fully integrate its delivery drones into the national airspace, we encourage you to consider Upstate New York as a future testing location. Oneida County is home to the New York UAS Test Site, a state-of-the-art UAS test facility at the forefront of safely integrating UAS into the National Airspace, and I believe it would be a perfect location for Wal-Mart to develop and test its drone technology in the future as your testing progresses.
The county-owned UAS Test Site, located at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, NY, is one of seven FAA-Designated UAS Test Sites in the United States. The test site consists of a highly instrumented unmanned aircraft systems testing facility and is part of New York’s 50-mile UAS Traffic Management (UTM) corridor spanning from Rome to Syracuse. The test site is leading the way in ensuring UAS are able to be safely integrated into the National Airspace in a timely manner by supporting NASA and FAA on its development of a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) system. The UTM corridor facilitates beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) testing and advanced unmanned aircraft operations, which would be invaluable to Wal-Mart’s testing and certification.
Rome, NY is also home to the world-renowned Air Force Research Laboratory’s Information Directorate (Rome Lab), which is the Air Force’s premier research site for autonomous systems, quantum computing, advanced communications, artificial intelligence, and counter-unmanned aerial system programs. Rome Lab develops information technologies for air, space and ground systems, often partnering with other federal agencies, state and local governments, major universities, and private companies like Wal-Mart.
Finally, the UAS Central Job Fund is funded through a $5 Million grant from New York State. The grant fund provides assistance to companies to increase their presence and investments in New York by offering incentives directly related to job creation in the UAS, autonomous vehicle and aerospace sectors.
We believe that Oneida County’s UAS Test Site, Griffiss International Airport, and its elite personnel would afford unique capabilities to Wal-Mart as you continue to develop the company’s drone capabilities and work to ensure they are able to safely integrate into the national airspace. We strongly encourage you to consider our test site as future UAS testing needs arise for Wal-Mart. We would also welcome the opportunity to tour Griffiss International Airport and the test site with you at some point in the near future so you can see its capabilities first hand. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please reach out to us directly, Connor Jeffers (Rep. Brindisi, 202-868-2967, connor.jeffers@mailhouse.gov) or Philip Vanno (County Executive Picente, 315-798-5800, pvanno@ocgov.net).
Sincerely, Anthony Brindisi, Member of Congress; and Anthony J. Picente, Jr., Oneida County Executive
Dear Mr. Bezos,
As Amazon continues to develop and refine its drone technology and fully integrate its delivery drones into the national airspace, we encourage you to consider Upstate New York as a future testing location. Oneida County is home to the New York UAS Test Site, a state-of-the-art UAS test facility at the forefront of safely integrating UAS into the National Airspace, and I believe it would be a perfect location for Amazon to develop and test its drone technology in the future as your testing progresses.
The county-owned UAS Test Site, located at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, NY, is one of seven FAA-Designated UAS Test Sites in the United States. The test site consists of a highly instrumented unmanned aircraft systems testing facility and is part of New York’s 50-mile UAS Traffic Management (UTM) corridor spanning from Rome to Syracuse. The test site is leading the way in ensuring UAS are able to be safely integrated into the National Airspace in a timely manner by supporting NASA and FAA on its development of a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) system. The UTM corridor facilitates beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) testing and advanced unmanned aircraft operations, which would be invaluable to Amazon’s testing and certification.
Rome, NY is also home to the world-renowned Air Force Research Laboratory’s Information Directorate (Rome Lab), which is the Air Force’s premier research site for autonomous systems, quantum computing, advanced communications, artificial intelligence, and counter-unmanned aerial system programs. Rome Lab develops information technologies for air, space and ground systems, often partnering with other federal agencies, state and local governments, major universities, and private companies like Amazon.
Finally, the UAS Central Job Fund is funded through a $5 Million grant from New York State. The grant fund provides assistance to companies to increase their presence and investments in New York by offering incentives directly related to job creation in the UAS, autonomous vehicle and aerospace sectors.
We believe that Oneida County’s UAS Test Site, Griffiss International Airport, and its elite personnel would afford unique capabilities to Amazon as you continue to develop the company’s drone capabilities and work to ensure they are able to safely integrate into the national airspace. We strongly encourage you to consider our test site as future UAS testing needs arise for Amazon. We would also welcome the opportunity to tour Griffiss International Airport and the test site with you at some point in the near future so you can see its capabilities first hand. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please reach out to us directly, Connor Jeffers (Rep. Brindisi, 202-868-2967, connor.jeffers@mailhouse.gov) or Philip Vanno (County Executive Picente, 315-798-5800, pvanno@ocgov.net).
Sincerely, Anthony Brindisi, Member of Congress; and Anthony J. Picente, Jr., Oneida County Executive