FAA Approves NY Power Authority Drones to Beyond Line of Sight

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved a plan from drone-flight management company Anra Technologies and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to use Anra technology to enable beyond-visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations by NYPA’s drones.

The FAA Letter of Acceptance (LOA) allows Anra to deploy its strategic conflict detection and aggregated conformance monitoring services, collectively known as strategic coordination, with the power authority, which already uses Anra’s mission manager platform for its unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations. The integration of the two would allow NYPA to fly drones beyond line of sight.

“This is a first-of-its-kind LOA,” said Amit Ganjoo, founder and CEO of Anra Technologies. “By using Anra’s strategic deconfliction services, NYPA not only demonstrates its forward-thinking approach but also prepares them for the FAA’s next drone rule that will include airspace management requirements.”

Anra’s technology draws on the company’s experience in the U.S. shared space Initiative, under which it already provides strategic-coordination services to entities flying in the same airspace, such as the Arlington police department and Manna Drone Delivery. 

The Antilly, Virginia, company was among a consortium of companies in the UAS industry recently selected by Canada aviation authority Transport Canada and its air navigation service provider, Nav Canada, to lay the groundwork for commercial drone-traffic management in suburban environments.  

Related:Canada Advances Drone Traffic Management System Trials

The LOA granted to Anra as a UAS service supplier was issued under the FAA’s near-term approval process, which aims to give drone operators expedited approvals for beyond line-of-sight operations. 

The FAA approval process streamlines the typically lengthy approval needed for BVLOS flight by focusing on approaches that meet rigorous safety and operational standards. Other Anra customers could now include the LOA in their requests for BVLOS operations when they want to use Anra’s services to reduce drone-to-drone collision risk.