Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) has entered a partnership with the U.S. Army in study, development and exploration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) technology. The agreement would address the educational needs of the industry.
Sidney A. McPhee (left), president of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, and Army Col. Timothy Baxter, project manager for the Army's Unmanned Aircraft Systems office, sign an agreement to share training and resources in the use of drone aircraft technology. The signing took place in Washington, D.C., at the annual gathering of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.
The collaboration between the Army’s UAS Program Office and the MTSU Department of Aerospace’s UAS program was announced at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference held at Washington, D.C. The Army is considering the possibilities of providing two control stations and three remote-controlled AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven UAS to the MTSU for research and educational purposes.
MTSU has announced plans for a new center for collaboration between government, industry and academic entities in advancing UAS technology integration. The center is to be named as Center for Unmanned Systems Operational Advancement and Research or MT-CUSOAR.
Unmanned aircraft have potential uses in patrolling domestic skies, monitoring environmental conditions, forest fires, and for surveying land and crops, in addition to its military usages. These aircraft have provided the army with work valued between $100 million and $150 million in 2001, which has now increased to around $2.5 billion.
The promotion of research and development in universities is an advantage for the Army and the university. It would induce interest in students and the Army could recruit these students.
MTSU’s aerospace department is also developing an UAS Operations curriculum for a degree course, which would prepare the graduates for a career related to UAS.