On June 10, a ribbon cutting will be used to officially open a new 9,600 square-foot hangar at Pendleton’s UAS Range (PUR), which is located at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport in Pendleton, Oregon.

The hangar is being opened by SOAR Oregon, which is a statewide nonprofit based in Bend, Oregon that seeks to encourage the growth of the UAS industry in the state.

Vahana, an electric, self-piloted vehicle being developed by A³, which is the advanced projects and partnerships outpost of Airbus in Silicon Valley, will be the first occupant of the new hangar, thanks to a partnership that was struck in November 2016 between Modern Technology Solutions, Inc. (MTSI) and SOAR Oregon.

Through that partnership, the two worked together on a flight test project for Vahana.

“As our project matures to the stage of full-scale test flights, it’s essential that we have trusted and committed partners in place to ensure Vahana’s safety and reliability are tested and proven,” says Zach Lovering, Project Executive for Vahana, through a SOAR Oregon press release.

“Through our work with MTSI, we’ve been fortunate enough to benefit from the commitment of SOAR Oregon, as well as the teams that made this new hangar such an appropriate test range for our work.”

Jeff Mabry, MTSI Flight Test Lead, Vahana, adds, “from nearly a dozen sites across the western United States that we evaluated, the Pendleton UAS Test Range quickly stood out as a premier test location for our unique test program.”

“We look forward to continued support from PUR and SOAR Oregon as we move toward a successful demonstration.”