Lays Foundation for Long-Range Drone Flights and Extending State’s Autonomous Flight Leadership
Oklahoma City, OK (February 9, 2025) – The Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics (ODAA) has completed the selection process and executed a contract for the state’s first investment in an airspace management system and automatic detect-and-avoid solution to support both drone flights and the rapidly emerging Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry.
ODAA has selected local company Vigilant Aerospace, based in Oklahoma City, to deploy this system on behalf of the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA).
This selection aims to develop the state as a national proving ground for both civilian and military drones and to pave the way for AAM operations like electric vertical takeoff air taxis and autonomous cargo aircraft.
Under the multi-year contract, Vigilant will deploy the first FlightHorizon system at the Oklahoma Air & Space Port at Clinton-Sherman Airport in partnership with OSIDA, which operates one of only 14 FAA-licensed spaceports in the United States. The project includes integration and management of multiple mobile air traffic surveillance radars and provides remote monitoring and Uncrewed Traffic Management (UTM) functions.
Through FlightHorizon, the state will have the ability to monitor airspace and track both cooperative and non-cooperative aircraft, replacing visual observers (VOs) with electronic observers (EOs). When implemented, the system eliminates the need for a chase plane for long-range beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) flight of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), including high-speed, high-altitude flights.
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