Three MQ-9 operators have completed a five-month trial operating from Hector International Airport in Fargo, North Dakota, alongside scheduled commercial and general aviation traffic.
The North Dakota Air National Guard’s 119th Wing, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations shared the airport’s Class D airspace from April through September, with flights coordinated through the Fargo air traffic control tower.
Hector International Airport officials said the trial was the first time three MQ-9 operators had operated from a US commercial airport alongside scheduled airline service and general aviation traffic.
General Atomics conducted training and testing flights, while CBP conducted law enforcement missions. The 119th Wing has operated UAS from Hector since 2012 and has more than a decade of experience coordinating UAS flights with the airport’s air traffic control tower.
According to the airport, the five-month trial was completed without disruption to scheduled airline service. General Atomics and CBP concluded their Fargo operations on 18 September and resumed MQ-9 flights from the GrandSKY UAS Business Park and Grand Forks Air Force Base.
The trial was intended to demonstrate how multiple UAS operators can share controlled airspace with conventional aviation at a joint-use commercial airport.
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Image: Hector International Airport