AirspaceLink tells Michigan House panel it is building drone 'highways' for public safety and commerce

The Michigan House Committee on Homeland Security and Foreign Influence heard testimony in Lansing from AirspaceLink executives about the company’s FAA-approved system for tracking and authorizing low-altitude drone flights, including operations used by public safety and by upcoming commercial delivery services.

Michael Hillander, cofounder and CEO of AirspaceLink, told the committee that the company runs the FAA’s “Before You Fly” authorization and a broader unmanned-traffic-management layer for flights “400 feet and below.” Hillander said the platform coordinates authorizations with airports and multiple government agencies and that AirspaceLink has been deployed in Detroit and other large U.S. cities to provide a common operating picture for public safety, the FAA and commercial operators. “We are the leading FAA approved low altitude authorization notification capability system,” Hillander said.

Hillander said AirspaceLink’s platform is already used by thousands of operators and public agencies and that it is designed to allow beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations once federal rules change. “We are building those highways in the sky here in Michigan and throughout the United States,” he said, describing the system as a geospatial back end that integrates radar, communications and remote identification data.

Why it matters: Federal rulemaking and executive actions are expected to expand BVLOS operations for deliveries, medical flights and public-safety responses. Hillander and committee members framed the issue as both an economic opportunity for Michigan manufacturing and a homeland-security and public-safety challenge that will…