Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

The OAR ORTA UxSRTO is no longer operating.

For further information, please visit The Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) Uncrewed Systems Program webpage.

Tribal Interest Group for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) at the Federal UAS Workshop

DOI’S BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS AND NOAA UAS PROGRAM CO-HOSTED THE INAUGURAL MEETING DURING FEDERAL UAS WORKSHOP AT NASA AMES ON MARCH 28TH.

DOI’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and NOAA UAS Program co-hosted the inaugural meeting of the Tribal Interest Group for UAS during the Federal UAS Workshopat NASA Ames on March 28th. Several tribal and non-tribal representatives were were present and discussed current Native American UAS operations, future concepts of operations and STEM opportunities. NOAA’s Robbie Hood and John “JC” Coffey led the meeting and agreed to have a follow on meeting at AUVSI’s Xponential Conference in Dallas, TX on May 8-11th with the BIA.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is responsible for the administration and management of 55 million surface acres and 57 million acres of subsurface minerals estates held in trust by the United States for American Indian, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives. Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) provides education services to approximately 42,000 Indian students.
The Tribal Interest Group for UAS discussed:

  1. Current Tribal UAS operations and support functions for those present
  2. Opportunities to share best practices and lessons learned in this domain
  3. Areas of interest from the Tribal communities and possible common missions
  4. STEM opportunities and paths forward

As part of the Federal UAS Workshop Goals (28-30 March 2017):

  1. Align Federal efforts where advantageous, promote partnerships
  2. Discuss new and emerging capabilities (e.g., payloads, platforms, communications, onboard processing, data processing and integration, data management)
  3. Share current experiences, including lessons learned, and future plans
  4. Explore science opportunities with emerging new tools (High Altitude Long Endurance, Payload Directed Flight)

Finally, there was discussion on the local and state UAS legislation and its effects on operations. The following web site is AUVSI’s STATE LEGISLATION MAP: UNMANNED SYSTEMS: http://cqrcengage.com/auvsi/statelegmap.