MOU between Oklahoma State University – University Multispectral Laboratories (OSU – UML) and the Unmanned Aerial System Center of Excellence (UASCE)

Montreal, Quebec – Oklahoma State University – University Multispectral Laboratories (OSU-UML), a US trusted-agent research, development, testing, evaluation and training institution, and the Unmanned Aerial System Center of Excellence (UASCE) Alma are pleased to announce the signature of a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Through this agreement, both parties have expressed their intent to collaborate in the development of the Unmanned Vehicle Systems (UVS) and most specifically in the integration on the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in the North American and international airspace.

This agreement will complement the latest efforts between the American and Canadian governments as described under the United-States – Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council – Joint Action Plan, released in December 2011. In this plan, both countries have agreed to establish a mechanism to share experiences on regulations related to UAS, with a view to align regulatory approaches.

The OSU-UML and UASCE agreement will go further in that both parties agreed to cooperate and conduct technical, engineering, scientific, testing & evaluation activities using the independently owned and operated facilities. They will mutually develop processes and methodologies to understand and meet the needs for future UAS technologies. The parties will also work together to defend and advocate for UVS sector’s issues and interests with government authorities in each province/state, the federal government and their agencies/ministries and departments. For the occasion, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Deputy of Lac-Saint-Jean, Mr. Alexandre Cloutier, emphasized the importance of this agreement which will contribute to the economic development of the county, of the Lac-Saint-Jean area and of the province of Quebec. In the past, the Quebec government actively participated in the aerospace industry development and will continue its investments in collaboration with the various aerospace representatives.

The primary focus of the OSU-UML and UASCE is to develop international centers of expertise focused on the development, applications and operations of UAS. They wish to join private, academia and public sector partners across the United States and Canada, as well as experts from around the world, to develop new business opportunities; support research and development activities; create jobs; promote investment; develop and commercialize advanced technologies and expand existing services within the field of unmanned vehicle systems. Both agencies have been conducting UAS flights for an extended period and have accumulated over 2,000 flying hours.