National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
The FAA has named Atlantic City International Airport (ACY) as one of five airports selected to host comprehensive assessments of technology designed to detect and diminish risks posed by drones.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has partnered with the FAA and the NARTP to collaborate on advancing drone technology, electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft operating in low-altitude airspace in urban environments as part of their Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) initiative.
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is a is a generic term that refers to the development and testing of new and innovative technologies and systems to move people and cargo. It aims to integrate emerging aircraft technology like eVTOL (Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing) and other remotely piloted vehicles with existing flight operations.
U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) & Air Mobility Command (AMC)
An agreement to create a test and evaluation corridor for the development of Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) and automated Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) technologies was signed in June 2023 by officials representing U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), Air Mobility Command (AMC), the NARTP, and the Atlantic County Economic Alliance. Under the terms of the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, the parties will cooperatively develop a prototype dual-use U.S. East Coast test and evaluation corridor for the demonstration, development, and evaluation of military, commercial, academic, and Federal Government UAS and AAM technologies with future application to strategic airlift capabilities of the U.S. Air Force.
USTRANSCOM is one of the 11 unified commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. In both times of peace and war, USTRANSCOM’s role is to provide the DOD with air, land, and sea transportation. USTRANSCOM was founded in 1987 and is based at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.
AMC is a major command of the U.S. Air Force and the air component to US TRANSCOM, also headquartered at
Scott. It provides unrivaled airlift, air refueling, aeromedical evacuation, global air mobility support, and Global Mobility Mission Command to project, connect, maneuver, and sustain the Joint Force to achieve national objectives.
Smart Airport Aviation Partnership (SAAP)
The purpose of the SAAP program is to transform Southern New Jersey’s innovation ecosystem by incubating, accelerating, and attracting new businesses into a high-tech cluster. Companies in the cluster will leverage “smart” infrastructure and Internet-of-Things technologies for airport and aviation applications in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and airports in both Atlantic County and Cape May County.
SAAP backs research projects that will foster regional aviation-related economic growth, and we’re hoping this exercise additionally helps forward the shaping of communication protocols for drone use in the immediate wake of emergencies.