Kansas UAS Joint Task Force Begins Work on FAA Pilot Program
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Col. Bob Brock speaking at WSU Tech in Wichita at the June 1 meeting of the Kansas UAS Joint Task Force
Rep. J.R. Claeys (R-Salina) joined representatives of the Salina Community Economic Development Organization and Kansas State Polytechnic at a Wichita meeting of the Kansas Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Joint Task Force Friday. The meeting was the first after Kansas was designated a winner of the Federal Aviation Administration Integration Pilot Program (IPP).
“Now that Kansas is one of the regions where UAS testing, training and research can happen, we need to take the next steps to commercialize and attract businesses to Kansas,” said Claeys. “Salina is an ideal location for training with our top ranked UAS program at K-State Poly and our state and federal resources with the Highway Patrol, KDOT, Crisis City and the Smoky Hill Range.”
Claeys introduced into the House last session a resolution supporting the Kansas application to the U.S. Department of Transportation that was selected by the FAA. The Kansas UAS Joint Task Force met to begin the process of meeting the federal requirements for the program and charting a direction for implementing the proposal submitted by the Kansas Department of Transportation to the FAA.
KDOT Secretary Richard Carlson speaking at WSU Tech in Wichita at the June 1 meeting of the Kansas UAS Joint Task Force.
“The two areas of focus are public safety, which includes disaster recovery and search and rescue operations with the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Department of Emergency Management, and the National Guard,” said Claeys. “Each of those agencies has a huge presence in Salina. The other area where we see a good fit, and can use UAS to reduce cost and improve reliability, is in the inspections of our transportation infrastructure.”
Claeys is chair of the Transportation & Public Safety Budget Committee in the Kansas House of Representatives. He noted that Kansas has about 5,000 bridges that must be inspected every two years. Each inspection can cost over $4,000. With UAS, the cost can be as low as $300 according to Claeys.
“By implementing UAS in a single agency we can save taxpayers $10 million annually,” said Claeys. “This isn’t something that will happen in 10 years, it’s something we can start doing now.”
The Kansas UAS Joint Task Force is organized by the Kansas Department of Transportation Division of Aviation, led by Col. Bob Brock, Director of Aviation. Organizational members include Kansas State Polytechnic, Wichita State University, University of Kansas, Kansas Department of Transportation, Kansas Department of Commerce, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks, Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas Department of Labor, Kansas Secretary of State, and advocacy organizations such as the Kansas Sheriff’s Association and Kansas Farm Bureau.
