Story ID: 126d
UND Expands UAS Program 
By: Mark Huber
Caption: Adds ScanEagle 3 To Fleet 
Word Count: 280

Boeing unit Insitu and the University of North Dakota (UND) announced significant additions to the university’s unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) degree program and research enterprise. The university will integrate Insitu’s INEXA Control, TacitView, and Catalina UAS software into the UND’s Aviation UAS curriculum in fall 2019. The university will also add Insitu’s recently launched ScanEagle 3 UAS platform into its aircraft fleet. It already uss Insitu’s ScanEagle. Insitu’s commercial aviation department will provide curriculum training and support services for UND as UND provides flights in which students experience operating as a UAV pilot, a mission commander, and a sensor operator during the flights. Additionally, UND instructors and staff will be among the first to receive ScanEagle3 training, and ScanEagle3 will be implemented into the fleet as it becomes available. In conjunction with the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, UND has several certificates of waiver or authorization (COA) that allow the use of ScanEagle across North Dakota. 

Insitu’s partnership with UND began in 2010 when In preparation for a flood across the Red River Valley at the North Dakota/Minnesota border, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty enlisted the help of UND to monitor rising river levels. As part of this effort, the FAA issued a COA permitting ScanEagle to be flown over the flooded area during this operation, and UND directed the effort with assistance from an Insitu flight operations team. This was the first time a university and a Federal agency collaborated on a project where a UAS was used for flood plain research.

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