10.31.24

Hoeven Holds Meeting Between Head of Defense Acquisitions, Northern Plains UAS Test Site & GrandSKY

Senator Working to Increase Size & Scope of Project ULTRA, Leverage FAA Unfiltered Radar Data Feed to Build North Dakota’s UAS Ecosystem

MINOT, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today met with Dr. William LaPlante, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, and leaders from the Northern Plains Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Test Site and GrandSKY to discuss opportunities for North Dakota to meet imminent defense needs in unmanned aircraft and counter-UAS technologies. Hoeven stressed:

  • The need to increase the size and scope of Project ULTRA.
    • Hoeven has been advancing Project ULTRA as the funding vehicle to support counter-UAS development.
    • Project ULTRA can serve as a bridge between an existing DoD contracting vehicle and new counter-UAS capabilities being developed in the private sector.
    • The senator previously discussed this priority at the UAS Summit in Grand Forks with Gen. David Stewart, who is leading the effort to protect against the misuse of unmanned aircraft across all military branches.
    • The senator has also been working with Air Combat Command (ACC) Commander Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown to address this critical Department of Defense (DoD) priority.
  • The opportunity to leverage the Northern Plains UAS Test Site’s access to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) unfiltered radar data feed to grow North Dakota’s UAS ecosystem.
    • The data feed will allow unmanned aircraft operating under the test site to safely fly where other state’s test sites could not, serving as a strong draw for private industry to operate in the state.
    • The feed will also empower the test site to detect malicious or unlawful UAS traffic, helping make North Dakota the premiere location for counter-UAS technology development.
  • How Project ULTRA and the FAA radar feed offer greater opportunities to develop methods for protecting domestic U.S. military bases against potential UAS threats.
    • The combination of these tools will enable the rapid testing of capabilities to detect, track and counter UAS in a real-world environment at an active duty Air Force Base, using the airspace managed by the Northern Plains UAS Test Site.
  • In addition to Hoeven and LaPlante, the meeting included the following stakeholders, giving them the opportunity to discuss these potential partnerships in greater detail:
    • Trevor Woods, Executive Director of the Northern Plains UAS Test Site.
    • Chris Hewlett, Director of Project ULTRA at GrandSKY.
    • Everett Dunnick, Director of Special Programs at Northern Plains UAS Test Site.

“Project ULTRA and the FAA’s unfiltered radar feed are a tremendous opportunity for the DoD and North Dakota, giving our state a key role in developing, testing and demonstrating counter-UAS technologies, which are critically needed to ensure the security of our military facilities and personnel both at home and abroad. In order to get there, we’re working to build upon the initial $18 million contract and leverage the radar feed to attract more private industry partners to our state,” said Hoeven. “That’s exactly what today’s meeting is about, as well as highlighting a variety of potential partnerships between DoD, our UAS ecosystem and private industry that will enable us to quickly test and field new counter-UAS capabilities.”

Today’s meeting builds upon Hoeven’s ongoing work with LaPlante to better utilize resources in North Dakota to advance critical military priorities, such as counter-UAS and nuclear modernization. Earlier this month, the Under Secretary provided video remarks at the UAS Summit in Grand Forks at Hoeven’s invitation, where he reinforced the importance of UAS and counter-UAS to future DoD operations. In addition, Hoeven previously helped introduce and pass legislation to support the development of counter-UAS technology and protect important facilities from potential misuse of unmanned aircraft. Hoeven is now sponsoring a bill to renew and expand upon the authorities created under this law.

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