New aviation partnership formed for tethered drone commercialization

A new partnership between Drone Aviation Holding Corp (DAC), a manufacturer of tethered drones and lighter-than-air aerostats, and The Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership at Virginia Tech (VTMAAP) has been made to research, test and further advance the commercialization of tethered drones.

Drones, also known as tethered unmanned aircraft systems, can be useful in a number of ways.

The two organizations started to flight-test their drones earlier in September in Jacksonville, Florida. They are determining the safety, reliability and commercial-use cases for DAC’s line of tethered drones.

"We are excited to demonstrate the advantages and many potential civil and commercial uses of our tethered drones," Jay Nussbaum, chairman of Drone Aviation Holding Corp., said. "This ongoing partnership will focus on evaluating the increased safety features and technical advantages of our tethered drones and sharing that data with the FAA for the potential commercial deployment of 'WATT' systems into the national airspace for first responders and commercial entities."

The results of the study are reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

"At Virginia Tech, we see tremendous opportunity for tethered-drone technology because of its unique capabilities and safety profile, making it applicable to a large number of applications from news broadcasting to emergency response and facility security," Rose Mooney, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, headquartered at the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science at Virginia Tech, said. "We look forward to working with Drone Aviation Holding Corp., the FAA and our consortium partners to explore the commercial application of this novel UAS technology."