In July, HSWERX, a DEFENSEWERX Hub and non-profit organisation, hosted an uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) assessment event in partnership with the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate.
The purpose of the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Detect and Avoid (DAA) Assessment Event at the Xelevate – UAS Center of Excellence in Leesburg was to identify solutions for BVLOS capabilities and the miniaturisation of capabilities for small UAS to provide local/organic and co-located DAA technology.
The Department of Homeland Security has shared further details from the event and disclosed that one of the participants has been selected by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to advance BVLOS capability to the project and development phase through a business-to-business agreement with HSWERX.
The BVLOS demonstration involved eight industry participants. Each company was allotted a 90-minute time slot to demonstrate how their systems could address CBP’s BVLOS needs, based on previously established assessment criteria.
“The CBP technical lead will work with the appropriate SMEs and developers to create a prototype that can be presented to (and hopefully approved by) the Federal Aviation Administration,” explained HSWERX programme manager Christina Heard. “During this time, HSWERX will provide project management and general oversight until the final products are ready to transition to DHS end users.”
The Department of Homeland Security says more opportunities for public-private partnerships are on the horizon for 2025.
For more information
Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate
