NORTH DAKOTA – North Dakota has reached a major milestone in advanced aviation innovation, becoming the first non-federal entity in the nation to access unfiltered Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar data to support unmanned aircraft operations.
The milestone enables North Dakota’s Vantis network—the statewide platform for advanced unmanned aircraft operations—to securely receive continuous radar data on aircraft activity in surrounding airspace, an essential capability for beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone operations. BVLOS operations allow drones to safely travel longer distances and perform missions without requiring operators to keep the aircraft in direct sight.
For North Dakotans, the advancement helps unlock safer and more efficient drone operations that can support:
- Emergency response and search-and-rescue missions.
- Infrastructure inspection and monitoring.
- Agricultural operations and precision agriculture.
- Expanded service delivery in rural communities.
Enabling Safe Drone Operations at Scale
The secure data integration was made possible through years of collaboration between the Northern Plains UAS Test Site (which administers the Vantis program), North Dakota Department of Commerce, and Thales, with North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT) designing and implementing the digital infrastructure needed to securely connect federal aviation systems with the Vantis network.
U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, FAA officials, and leaders from the Northern Plains UAS Test Site recently announced activation of the secure radar data feed. The integration enables Vantis to receive continuous FAA radar data on aircraft activity in surrounding airspace, helping ensure drones can safely operate alongside traditional aircraft.
Secure Infrastructure Built by NDIT
NDIT teams—spanning security, networking, system administrators, enterprise architecture, and project management—worked alongside Vantis engineers and federal partners to build the secure infrastructure required to meet stringent FAA security standards. Their work included developing protected network pathways, secure computing environments, firewalls, and systems capable of processing real-time aviation data.
Behind every major technology milestone is a lot of careful work that most people never see,
said Corey Mock, Chief Information Officer for the State of North Dakota. Our teams were proud to help build the secure infrastructure needed to safely connect federal aviation data with the Vantis system. This is a strong example of how IT drives innovation across North Dakota.