Commission programs funds for Camp Gruber UAS test site; master plan study approved

The Oklahoma Aerospace Aeronautics Commission approved Dec. 11 a program of state support for a proposed Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) test site at Camp Gruber, including authorization to program up to $2.5 million for site development work and to fund an initial master-plan and site-development study.

Director Ardies and staff said Camp Gruber — a large National Guard training area in southeast Oklahoma — has a roughly 500-acre flat parcel that the Oklahoma Air National Guard believes could serve as a test site for both civilian homeland missions and some Guard testing activity. Staff said the legislature has appropriated a total of $9 million for statewide UAS/AAM infrastructure investments across several appropriations cycles ($5 million from PREP and $2 million in two separate regular-appropriation cycles), and the Camp Gruber work is part of that broader program.

The commission approved the presentation and authorized staff to program up to $2.5 million in support for Camp Gruber work. The first project the commission approved was a master-plan and site-development study priced at just under $89,000.

Why it matters: A designated test site could bring federal and private-sector testing activity to Oklahoma and support economic development in aerospace technologies tied to UAS and advanced air mobility.

Clarifying details: Staff described the appropriation history as $5 million (PREP) plus $2 million and $2 million in two other appropriation cycles, for a total of $9 million available for UAS/AAM infrastructure investments. The commission authorized programming up to $2.5 million to support Camp Gruber development; the master-plan/site study cost was presented as just under $89,000 and was approved.