Friday, July 20, 2012

Are Drones Flying at Grayling?

We've heard several reports of drones in Western Michigan in recent weeks. It is believed that the drones are flying out of Grayling Army Airfield. [SEE UPDATE BELOW.]

Do you have information on drone sightings in Michigan? Please contact us at nodronesmichigan [at] gmail.com ... and learn how you can join the Michigan effort to STOP the drones!


UPDATE: July 22, 2012
According to the Department of Defense Report to Congress on Future Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training, Operations, and Sustainability (April 2012), Michigan has two locations that have been designated as potential basing locations for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) [i.e. drones] (p. 8 ff.). It is disclosed that the RQ-7B Shadow is operated from Grayling, under the status "Locations Requiring COAs [Certificate of Waiver or Authorization]". ("Locations where the Army currently conducts operations outside of Restricted Areas that require a COA from the FAA. In the majority of these locations, the purpose of the COA is to transition from the launch site to adjacent Restricted Areas. Additionally, the Raven can be operated using DoD-FAA agreed-to Class G airspace notification procedures for flights flown over Government-owned or -leased land." (p. 20)) Grayling has also been designated as a potential basing location for the RQ-11B.

The report also discloses that Lake Margretha is the other Michigan location included in the Department of Defense's list of 110 potential UAS basing locations. Lake Margretha is designated for the RQ-11B.

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