Hoeven, Transportation Secretary Discuss North Dakota’s Role in Meeting the Nation’s Aviation Needs

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven this week discussed with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, North Dakota’s role in meeting key priorities to ensure safe and efficient air travel in the U.S. airspace. Hoeven outlined the work of the University of North Dakota (UND) and his efforts to leverage the school’s expertise in order to:
In addition, Hoeven invited Secretary Duffy to visit North Dakota and learn firsthand about the state’s counter-drone efforts at Grand Sky and the Northern Plains Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Test Site. Hoeven stressed the need tofinish linking the FAA’s unfiltered radar data feedwith the test site to empower this work, which is needed to protect against the malicious use of UAS.
“North Dakota is home to the largest flight school in the country and plays a growing role in ATC training with the Enhanced AT-CTI Program at UND. Considering the challenges faced by our aviation industry, it is critical that we work to remove bottlenecks in training for air traffic controllers. That’s exactly what we’ve worked to do at UND, and our ATC Workforce Development Act will take these efforts even further,” said Hoeven. “Our state is also leading the way in developing counter-drone technologies, an increasingly important national security priority. The FAA’s radar data feed will enhance our test site’s ability to identify potentially threatening systems, a critical part of keeping the national airspace secure from dangerous UAS. I appreciate Secretary Duffy’s willingness to help complete the process of sharing the unfiltered radar data, as well as his agreement to visit North Dakota and learn more about the important work we’re doing at UND, Grand Sky and the test site.”
Advancing Counter-Drone Technologies
Hoeven is working to realize new opportunities in the Grand Forks region for developing counter-drone technologies to protect against emerging threats resulting from the misuse of UAS. To this end, Hoeven continues his efforts to:
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