A leap for the uncrewed aviation and advanced air mobility community, NUAIR’s new operational airspace now spans a significant 450 square miles in Central New York.
SYRACUSE, NY – March 6, 2025 – From an initial 50-mile narrow corridor in 2016 to a 240 square mile area supporting a wide variety of terrain and infrastructure to now covering 450 square miles in 2025, the opportunities for uncrewed aerial systems (drones), next generation aviation, and advanced air mobility continue to grow exponentially in Central New York. This week, NUAIR received a Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) nearly doubling its operational and commercial airspace in the greater Syracuse region.
Now the largest BVLOS airspace in the Northeast United States, NUAIR’s expanded coverage includes key locations significant to several members of the Central New York region. A few include:
Downtown Syracuse: Innovation leader, Upstate Medical University, has had autonomous ground robotics working in their daily hospital operations since as early as 2023. Upstate Medical is launching skyward with drones now able to deliver commercial medical and pharmaceutical packages to the surrounding area as well as deploy regularly to their cancer center over 40 miles away. With Downtown now being included in the waivered airspace, Upstate Medical will be able to leverage NUAIR’s BVLOS network to safely operationalize their delivery plans.
Clay, NY: In 2022, technology giant Micron announced plans to bring leading-edge memory manufacturing to Central New York with a $100B facility. The technology produced at this plant offers a perfect use case for Rural Air Mobility (RAM) with the transportation of chips by electric or hybrid aircraft – reducing both traffic congestion and product damage from traditional transportation. The increase in airspace opens the opportunity for cargo opportunities to be integrated into both local transportation and into larger shipping supply lines at SYR airport.
3,000 ft paved runway at Beck’s Grove: As a variety of new aircraft are developed for Advanced Air Mobility (eVTOL, STOL, CTOL, etc.), the access to ground infrastructure to support them is critical for the accessibility of this new technology. Providing waivered coverage for this area opens the opportunity to deploy and evaluate these next generation aircraft. Not only that, but Beck’s Grove can now serve the surrounding community by offering alternative transportation for supplies and emergency response in critical times of blizzards or flooding.
Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, "Our continued partnership with NUAIR has been transformative in our efforts to elevate the uncrewed aerial systems industry in New York State.” NUAIR’s Land & Expand Grant from Empire State Development has spurred incredible growth throughout the region enabling a draw for talent, technology, and attention to the incredible ecosystem that is being built here. Knight continued, “This latest FAA designation and milestone will further boost the UAS sector's continued growth, ensuring that New York State remains ascendant in this vital field, bringing top-quality jobs and economic growth to the Central New York and Mohawk Valley regions.”
A critical part of this region and ecosystem, GENIUS NY is the world’s largest drone and robotics accelerator. GENIUS NY, Director of Programs and Engagement Kara Jones shared, "NUAIR’s expanded BVLOS waiver is a significant milestone for the uncrewed systems industry and reinforces Central New York as a hub for advanced drone operations. This approval provides GENIUS NY startups – past, present, and future – with greater opportunities to commercialize their technology and secure customers. Expanding the operational area strengthens our ecosystem by enabling real-world deployments, accelerating market entry, and driving industry adoption of innovative UAS solutions."
“The expansion of NUAIR’s BVLOS airspace doubles our capacity and service opportunities for all our partners and clients: commercial, state, and federal.” NUAIR President & CEO Ken Stewart explained, “It’s a win for more than NUAIR though – it’s a win for all of New York State.”
About NUAIR
NUAIR is a nonprofit driving economic development through innovations in UAS and Advanced Air Mobility to safely integrate into the national airspace. Funded through the continued support from Empire State Development and the State of New York through grants focused on empowering and enabling the next generation of aviation.
With a rich history performing UAS testing and validation, investing in local and state economic development, and training public safety elite, the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, Inc. (NUAIR) is proud to be the catalyst to not only New York’s airspace innovation, but mobility advancement around the globe.
NUAIR. Where Next Takes Flight.
Media Contact:
Megan Crout | Director of Marketing | NUAIR
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