UMd Engineers Open UAS Test Site near NAS Pax River

University of Maryland Opens Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site in Southern Maryland

The University of Maryland (UMD) A. James Clark School of Engineering has launched a new Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Test Site in Southern Maryland. With support from the University System of Maryland, the site will bring together leaders in academia, industry, and government to accelerate UAS research. Matt Scassero, a former Navy captain who helped lead the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, is Director of the new UMD UAS Test Sit

Based in St. Mary’s County, just a few miles from Naval Air Warfare Center Aviation Division (NAWCAD) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) headquarters, and NAWCAD Webster Field Annex, the UMD UAS Test Site will be a catalyst for research and development.


Congressman Steny Hoyer, who represents the district in which UMD and its UAS Test Site are located, said, “With Patuxent River Naval Air Station serving as a premier facility for research, development, testing, and evaluation, our region is already a
hub for aviation innovation, and today’s launch of the UAS Test Site will put Southern Maryland at the forefront of integrating unmanned autonomous systems into our national airspace.

The UMD UAS Test Site is part of the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership,
in concert with Virginia and New Jersey, under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) UAS Test Site program, and will help the FAA integrate UAS into the national airspace. Managed by UMD’s Clark School of Engineering, the UMD UAS Test Site will create and deliver products and programs in support of workforce development and higher education goals.


“Our existing relationship with the University of Maryland serves as the foundation of this new test site,” said Vice Admiral David Dunaway, commander of NAVAIR. “The sharing of human capital and expertise from the university, government, and industry will be a conduit for technology transfer, and the overall betterment of national security.”

UMD Opens Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site | UMD Right Now :: University of Maryland
St. Mary’s pivot to commercial aviation to be marked -- Gazette.Net

Scassero plans to move his office to the St Mary's airport terminal, and the university plans to lease hangar space there, both next month. Next year, the university plans to lease a newly built hangar, office and prototyping facility. And, by 2018, Scassero said the university plans to build, in partnership with the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center, a center to house its research efforts.

AUVSI DC Chapter - Washington Conversation on Unmanned Systems - March 21, 2013- The Virginia Tech Research Center - Arlington - Arlington, Virginia
Mr. Matt Scassero:

Matt is the Lead for the A. James Clark School of Engineering on the FAA Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Test Site. Previously, Matt completed a 27-year career in the US Navy, retiring at the rank of Captain as the Vice Commander for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, the Navy’s principal research, development, test, evaluation, engineering and fleet support activity for naval aircraft and systems.

Matt has served America in a wide variety of leadership roles both at sea and ashore. He has deployed on aircraft carriers with several squadrons, served as the NATO liaison officer with Commander Second Fleet, and was Air Boss on a carrier. Ashore he has been a flight instructor, an acquisition professional, and commanded the Electronic Attack Weapons School. He has flown combat missions in Iraq and Kosovo, and has deployed to six of the seven seas and 25 nations across five continents.

He is certified by the federal government in program management, test and evaluation, software acquisition, safety program management and electronic warfare operations. Matt earned a BS in Physics (Oceanography) from the United States Naval Academy in 1982, and is a Leadership Maryland 2007 graduate.

UAS – Get Real! UMD UAS Test Site Funded By State, Part Of MAAP At AUVSI.pdf

One of the critical areas for integration of UAS into the national airspace will be certification of the aircraft. On this front we have a dual interest. As part of the FAA UAS Test Site program there is an interest in making the six test sites the foci for new Designated Airworthiness Representatives (DAR) for UAS. On the process side of the house, UMD is one of the leaders in taking its cue from the FAA and converting the DoD airworthiness directives, the MIL-HDBK-516B and NAVAIRINST 13034.1, into a commercial friendly product. Most UAS operators are using manufacturer’s documentation and their airworthiness statements, reviewing them and signing off with just those as justification.

Using the resources of the Clark School of Engineering, we have stood up an engineering-based process that actually conducts and reviews our own data, not relying only on what the manufacturer provides with their system. We have gained valuable cooperation from our initial platform partner, UAVSolutions, out of Jessup, MD, as they were clearly “all in” for this effort. The initial run of this process is complete, and we are not only learning tremendous lessons from it, but making those lessons and the process available in the future.

SM-894: Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Webster Field - msa_se5_37672.pdf
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