The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Integration Pilot Program (IPP), including the initiative in North Dakota, will begin its transition to a permanent program. Now the BEYOND program, this permanence helps ensure the state can continue to develop the technology, practices and legal framework needed to safely integrate unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the nation’s airspace, an essential part of fully realizing the technology’s benefits. Hoeven originally worked with Chao and the FAA to launch the IPP and ensure the North Dakota Department of Transportation was selected. 

The BEYOND program will allow several previous IPP locations like North Dakota to address the FAA’s most significant UAS research challenges, particularly the ability to fly beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS). North Dakota is positioned to lead in these efforts due to the Vantis network, the nation’s first statewide BVLOS network.