It's a tentative yes, but officials from an affiliate of General Atomics said Monday they're interested in leasing space at Grand Forks County's unmanned aircraft business park.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. is considering becoming a tenant at Grand Sky, a UAS-focused business park located on land adjacent to Grand Forks Air Force Base.
"Grand Sky has been, let's say, tentatively selected, but we need to work out the details and business arrangement and get that approved by the board," said Frank Pace, president of the affiliate's Aircraft Systems Group.
General Atomics is seeking a site to conduct unmanned aircraft pilot training. A growing demand for UAS pilots and accompanying training has put a squeeze on the U.S. Air Force - a gap private companies such as General Atomics could fill, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said Monday.
"Clearly, we're looking for the top companies to partner with us on this," Hoeven said.
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Pace and Vice President of Strategic Development Bart Roper were invited to North Dakota by Hoeven. They and other General Atomics officials toured the Grand Sky site and discussed the company's needs with Hoeven, U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and a contingent of local, county and state officials.
The business park itself is still preparing to begin construction this summer, first installing and updating infrastructure at the 217-acre site before moving on to buildings. The land is rented from the U.S. Air Force by Grand Forks County, which in turn leases it to Grand Sky Development Company. That company is responsible for constructing facilities on the land.
General Atomics doesn't have a designated training facility, and Pace said the presence of simulation training tools at UND would be a positive for the company.
Renderings of a proposed facility show the company requiring both office and hangar space for aircraft. Should the company move forward with building at Grand Sky, Pace said it would hope to have temporary facilities operational by March.
"We can meet that," said Tom Swoyer Jr., president of Grand Sky Development Company, assured Pace and Roper.
General Atomics also manufactures Predator and Reaper unmanned aircraft, which are used locally by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the North Dakota Air National Guard.
The company is the second in recent months to be courted by Grand Sky. Personnel form FlightSafety International, a flight training company, also visited and heard a pitch from business park officials recently.
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