USA Drone Port Project Aims to Boost Perry County Economy
The USA Drone Port is a county backed initiative to build a center for unmanned aircraft systems research, development, training and education in Perry County. The project leverages local aviation and higher education assets, has secured Abandoned Mine Lands grant funding and outlines facilities that could support testing, manufacturing and workforce training locally.
The USA Drone Port is an economic development and research initiative intended to create a National Unmanned Robotic Research and Development Center in Perry County. The county page lists a board of directors that includes Perry County Judge Executive Scott Alexander and leaders from Hazard Community and Technical College and the Wendell H. Ford Airport. The vision calls for a 500 foot runway, circular landing pads, class G airspace for fixed wing testing, solution shops and hangars, gigabit enabled office space, computer labs and all weather indoor flight testing facilities.
Project funding and infrastructure plans provide concrete early steps. The site notes a 2018 Abandoned Mine Lands Pilot grant of 1.5 million dollars designated for a 10,000 square foot indoor flight testing facility. A separate 743,000 dollar AML Pilot grant is identified to extend sewer collection and add water service to the site. Those investments target the basic infrastructure needed to support manufacturing, research facilities and training operations on former mine lands.
Organizers highlight a range of unmanned aircraft system applications that map directly to regional priorities. Potential uses include wildfire mapping, agricultural monitoring, disaster management, power line surveys, law enforcement uses, aerial imaging and freight transport. The combination of testing space, training capacity at a community and technical college and proximity to the Wendell H. Ford Airport is intended to make Perry County more attractive to companies and research projects that need controlled airspace and laboratory style facilities.
For local residents the project could mean expanded employment opportunities in testing, maintenance, manufacturing and instruction, along with construction and utility work tied to site build out. Extending sewer and water service also increases the county capacity to support other business and industrial users near the site. Economically, the Drone Port aims to leverage federal grant dollars and existing regional assets to diversify a local economy that has long sought stable, higher skill jobs.
Next steps for the initiative are implementation of the funded projects and continued coordination among county officials, Hazard Community and Technical College and airport managers to move from vision to operational capacity. The plan positions Perry County to participate in growing markets for unmanned aircraft technology while building local infrastructure and workforce capability.
