The Unmanned Safety Institute (USI) announced Thursday that it will collaborate with Textron Systems to incorporate the Aerosonde small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) operator training into university curricula. USI will implement its safety education, skill-based curriculum, and training frameworks to provide certifications in collaboration with select technical colleges and universities.
Qualified students will have the opportunity to participate in unmanned aircraft training in accordance with Textron Systems’s training standards that are backed by more than one million UAS flight hours. Textron Systems and USI will work together to ensure that the new program offers resources that support classroom and flight activity directly related to Textron Systems’s unmanned aircraft systems.
USI’s professional certifications will be considered prerequisites for learners to participate in on-site training with Textron Systems at its Unmanned Systems Service & Support Center in Blackstone, Virginia. “Over the past couple years, we have seen an increased demand for Aerosonde sUAS operations, making this certification program an extremely valuable asset for those wishing to join the Textron Systems team,” said Textron Systems v-p of tactical mission systems Chris Mallon.