FAQ and Resource Center

Package delivery, transporting medical samples, inspecting wind turbines and power lines, search and rescue, relief after a natural disaster - all of these UAS applications are limited by not being able to fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). Vantis enables BVLOS flights and all of the public and economic good that comes with using UAS to its full potential. Physical infrastructure around the state will house the technology that, much like a cellphone network, allows for UAS to fly great distances from its operator, safely and accurately. How does this compare to other BVLOS networks around the country? It doesn't. Another network like Vantis simply doesn't exist.

Vantis has partnered with giants in aviation technology to build out and implement the infrastructure to enable BVLOS flights. Thales USA brings decades of safety experience in manned aviation as well as cutting-edge UAS technology. Prime testing and validation is being completed to ensure the safety and reliability of Vantis, and to perform use-case development flights. Other use-case testing is being performed by American Aerospace Technology, Asylon, iSight Drone Services, Phoenix Air Unmanned, UND Aerospace Foundation and Workhorse.

For over a decade, North Dakota has been investing in the emerging technologies related to unmanned operations and already has a robust UAS ecosystem in place. It's home to the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, Grand Sky business and aviation park, the first university with an accredited UAS flight program, and dozens of private UAS companies. With Vantis, North Dakota will become the country's epicenter of UAS advancements. North Dakotans pride themselves on their entrepreneurial spirit, their unimpeachable work ethic, and their highly-trained workforce.

True BVLOS is the holy grail of the UAS industry, but the barriers of entry are extensive. They include the cost of building out the infrastructure, the years of research and development involved in securing the myriad technologies necessary to do it safely, the years of working closely with the FAA to be able to secure the necessary approvals, and the extensive testing and validation required to provide BVLOS flights that are reliable, scalable, commercially viable. Vantis has already done that work - all you have to do is show up and fly.

Key site implementation began in the Williston and Watford City areas of North Dakota due to a high concentration of potential use cases as well as existing state and local government infrastructure that was leveraged for this deployment. Following the opening of the Mission and Network Operations Center (MNOC) in 2022, the eastern corridor of Grand Forks and Fargo are the next areas of system expansion, with statewide coverage to come after that. Vantis will offer a scalable deployment to other regions, taking the success in North Dakota to other states.

Long-distance BVLOS flights are a gamechanger for the UAS industry. But significant barriers of entry mean that it's just not commercially viable for every UAS operator to facilitate their own method of achieving BVLOS flights, just like it's not commercially viable for every car, truck, and SUV to build their own roads. Today, Vantis is North Dakota's BVLOS highway, but tomorrow, it's the nation's interstate system. Repeatable, scalable and extensively tested to ensure safety and reliability, Vantis is the future of UAS.