State and federal leaders to attend UAS battlefield readiness demonstration at Camp Grafton

DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – Camp Grafton is getting a chance to show how it could operate as a primary unmanned aerial system (UAS) and drone testing site for the U.S. Department of Defense with a symposium being held at the camp on Thursday.

The multi-day symposium will welcome federal and state officials, including U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak and U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, both R-North Dakota. Organizers are also expecting representatives from Australia, Italy, Israel, Ukraine and Canada, among other countries.

“What we are trying to do at this event this week is bring some of the combat effective technology from the battlefield here, and show people what is working, why it is working and start to create an environment where systems can be tested here in North Dakota,” Anno.ai CEO and symposium organizer Steven Witt said.

The symposium comes in an effort to bolster U.S. UAS and drones on battlefields. Manufacturers have had trouble testing drones for the battlefields such as Ukraine when they are being developed in traditionally warm and dry markets like Texas and California.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth put out a recent directive to establish at least three national testing sites and ranges.

State leaders believe North Dakota provides an elementally unique environment where geography, infrastructure and weather accurately replicate real-world conditions.

“A lot of U.S. defense technology that has been sent to the battlefield has not worked in the way we have anticipated, and it hasn’t worked because we weren’t able to test those systems in combat-like environments before they are deployed,” Witt said.

Unmanned and automated systems that rely on artificial intelligence need to be trained on battlefield data in order to be effective. Many systems that have been developed in Texas or California make their way over to Ukraine, but have never seen snow before.

Another big draw having a drone testing site in North Dakota are the regulations in place for UAS, allowing testing to take place. There is a complicated patchwork of regulations enforced across the country when it comes to small unmanned aerial systems.

“It would be much, much more difficult to impossible to do this anywhere else in the United States right now,” Witt said.

In a letter to Hegseth, Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, advocated for Camp Grafton as a test site. He outlined the 10,000 acres of flexible training space, access to Devils Lake for maritime applications, year-round use by military and federal agencies and integration with North Dakota’s UAS ecosystem, including the University of North Dakota and North Plains UAS Test Site.

“Camp Grafton’s facilities and ranges offer airspace, terrain, and infrastructure uniquely capable of providing immediate support for DOD’s UAS and counter-UAS testing and training needs. ... The installation already supports UAS and counter-UAS testing activities, including counter-UAS testing by the Department of Homeland Security and a variety of private industry partners,” Hoeven wrote in a release.

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By Maxwell Marko
Grand Forks Herald