On Friday, Feb. 22, Mississippi State University was awarded a $7.2 million defense contract to test emerging UAS technologies.

Mississippi State was awarded the competitive U.S. Army contract to test and validate emerging UAS propulsion technologies. The contract extends through Feb. 2021, and is funded through research, development, test and evaluation appropriations provided to the Army.

“Mississippi State University leads in researching and development of UAS technologies, and this expertise will be put to work to support a growing reliance on unmanned aircraft systems for national defense purposes,” says U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who announced the award.

Hyde-Smith worked to secure additional UAS funding through the FY2019 Defense Appropriations Bill, which was signed into law in Sept. 2018. Other UAS research funding was also included in the recently-signed 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act.

Mississippi State leads the FAA UAS Center of Excellence, which works to identify important issues related to the safe integration of UAS into the nation's airspace, and engage in research and policy development on the expanding use of UAS.