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GA-ASI Successfully Tests Drone in Civilian Airspace

Speaking of military technology that may one day go commercial …

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. recently got U.S. government permission to fly a Poway-built unmanned aircraft for an unusually long distance in civilian airspace, without the usual chase plane. The Block 5 Predator B aircraft operates by remote control through a satellite link.

The Aug. 30 flight covered 1,075 nautical miles beginning and ending in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Thanks to its uncrowded skies, North Dakota was selected as a testing ground for unmanned aircraft. GA-ASI usually tests its aircraft in California’s high desert; the company recently finished a permanent hangar at the North Dakota outpost, which is also the site of a U.S. Air Force base.

Among other firsts, the aircraft operated through multiple spot beams of a high-throughput satellite, transitioning effectively from one beam to another.

GA-ASI would eventually like to fly in general U.S. airspace above 18,000 feet (called Class A airspace) without the need for special permission.

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