Oklahoma City, OK (February 7, 2025) – The Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics (ODAA) has awarded a contract to local company Vigilant Aerospace to deploy the state’s first air traffic management system at Oklahoma Air and Space Port.
This move positions Oklahoma as a potential testbed for long-range drone operations and the emerging Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sector.
“Oklahoma understands the importance of the autonomous aviation industry for the state and our nation and is taking the lead in this growing industry and ecosystem,” Vigilant Aerospace CEO Kraettli Epperson told Zag Daily.
Under the multi-year contract, Vigilant’s ‘FlightHorizon’ system will first be deployed at the Oklahoma Air and Space Port at Clinton-Sherman Airport, one of just 14 FAA-licensed spaceports in the U.S.
The technology replaces human visual observers with electronic monitoring, eliminating the need for chase planes in beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone flights. This capability is expected to accelerate military, cargo, and civilian drone operations in the state.
Vigilant Aerospace is the leading developer of multi-sensor detect-and-avoid and airspace management software for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS or drones). The company’s product, FlightHorizon, is based on two NASA patents and uses data from multiple sources to display a real-time picture of the air traffic around a UAS and to provide automatic avoidance maneuvers to prevent collisions. The software is designed to meet industry technical standards, to provide automatic safety and to allow UAS to safely fly beyond the sight of the pilot. The software has won multiple industry awards and the company has had contracts and users at NASA, the FAA, the U.S. Department of Defense and with a variety of drone development programs. Visit our website at www.VigilantAerospace.com