AURA Network Systems, alongside Ohio Department of Transportation’s FlyOhio initiative, will launch its first commercial network operations in the state.

The network which is being purpose-built for autonomous flight will be based at Ohio’s Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport. The news is part of Ohio’s focus on AAM, Richard Fox, director of Ohio’s Uncrewed Aircraft System Center, which leads the FlyOhio initiative, said: “Ohio is developing cutting-edge digital aviation infrastructure, and hosting AURA’s network certainly reflects our leadership in next-generation advanced air mobility, including autonomous and remotely piloted aircraft.”

The announcement comes as Springfield hosts the annual National Advanced Air Mobility Industry Forum.

Bill Tolpegin, CEO of AURA Network Systems, said: “Look, everyone at AURA is very much aware of Ohio’s historic role in global aviation, so it’s both humbling and exciting to be part of Ohio’s leadership in the future of global aviation. Unlocking the tremendous economic and social potential of AAM is really nothing short of a new era of human flight, and these public-private collaborations are vital to getting us into that next era.”

Jeff Hoagland, president of the Dayton Development Coalition – a state-authorized member of FlyOhio’s coalition of AAM stakeholders, added. “For the last decade, Ohio has worked to create an environment where Advanced Air Mobility innovators can test their capabilities and then grow their manufacturing operations. We’re proud to welcome AURA to the ‘Birthplace of Aviation,’ and we’re confident its redundant capabilities will attract an array of government and industry stakeholders to conduct both their flight testing and other operations at Springfield – especially those developing larger aircraft to fly at higher altitudes within the National Airspace System.”

Tom Franzen, Springfield’s Assistant City Manager and director of Economic Development, said: “Among the many features of AURA’s network are that it operates on unique, dedicated aviation spectrum which is crucial to reducing signal latency and to delivering ultra-reliable communications – including for C2 voice and data necessary for FlyOhio’s key objective to make Ohio airspace among the first in the nation ready to fly beyond visual line of sight.”