An Oklahoma State University lab in Ponca City has received a $44.2 million contract to further develop unmanned aerial systems, which lab officials said could create more than 90 jobs during the next five years.
Under the contract, the lab will work to combine optical, electrical, radio frequency and acoustic sensors with existing unmanned aerial vehicle technology. The Journal Record reported Monday the work is being done for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, N.J.
The research and development work for the project is being done by University Multispectral Laboratories, which is owned by OSU and managed and operated by Ponca City-based Triton Scientific LLC. Triton's chief operating officer, Tim Reynolds, said the lab has 70 employees in the state, including 30 in Ponca City.
"The lab is designed by accelerate delivery of technology to the war fighter and first responder communities and to foster more rapid commercialization of those technologies," Reynolds said.
He said the lab's board of directors consists of OSU management members and an independent representative from Ponca City who is appointed by the board. The lab is not funded under OSU's operating budget, Reynolds said.
Ken Viera, who will lead the lab's unmanned aerial systems program, said the contract will move Oklahoma into a leadership position in the testing, study and manufacturing for unmanned systems. OSU has created a graduate degree program in the field.
The unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, are tested at an airstrip near Fort Sill, a U.S. Army base. The vehicles use cameras, sensors and other technology to aid ground forces. Testing of the UAVs could someday help avoid crashes of manned aircraft, Reynolds said.
The work with the UAVs will be done at flight test facilities in Lawton, with research and support efforts being done in Stillwater and Ponca City, Viera said.
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Information from: The Journal Record, http://www.journalrecord.com
