Oklahoma has a rich history in aviation and with Native American Tribal Nations. For example, the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center located in Oklahoma City is celebrating its 75^th anniversary. The Center was first established under the Civil Aeronautics Administration in 1946 as Will Rogers Field to provide centralized training and aircraft maintenance. In 1978, Congress passed legislation to change the Center’s name to the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in honor of Senator Mike Monroney, who authored the legislation that created the Federal Aviation Administration in 1958.

Oklahoma is home to 39 Native American Tribes. The State of Oklahoma’s name is derived from the language of one of these tribes known as the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The state’s name comes from two Choctaw words Okla and Homma (translated, it means "Red People"). The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma was one of ten state, local, and tribal governments selected to participate in the initial Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Integration Pilot Program (UASIPP) in May 2018. They were the only tribal nation selected. This effort concluded on October 25, 2020. The follow-on effort known as the BEYOND Program started on October 26, 2020 and continues the partnership with eight of the nine IPP participants including the Choctaw Nation. Through UASIPP and the BEYOND Program the Choctaw Nation has focused on advancing UAS technology for use in agriculture, public safety, and infrastructure inspections, as well as planned Extended visual Line of Sight (EVLOS), operations over people and nighttime operations.

Based upon the history of the Aeronautical Center and the Choctaw Nation it just made sense when these two entities entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in February 2021 to collaborate to promote emerging aerospace technologies. The intent of this collaboration is to achieve mutual goals and leverage resources for sharing information to assist with operational aspects once new emerging technologies are integrated into the National Airspace System.

Since the signing of the agreement, the Aeronautical Center has been working to establishing sub-committees to work on the following initiatives in support of the MOU:

• Virtual Environments – Work on emerging technologies using virtual tools such as flight simulators, simulation of urban environments, simulation of parcel delivery, vertical launch simulators, and air traffic control simulation to advance the development and integration of emerging aerospace technologies into the NAS.


• Human Factors Research – Work collaboratively in human factors research to facilitate the development and implementation of emerging aerospace technology.


• Safety Management and Accident Investigation – Work collaborative to develop, integrate, implement, and provide education on the integration of Safety Management Systems, risk management, and accident investigation and reporting into the implementation of new emerging technologies.


• STEM – Develop, promote, and implement initiatives related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs.


• Supply Chain Management – Work on emerging technologies related to supply chain system, including parcel deliveries, using AAMs and its integration in the NAS.

In October 2021 members of the sub-committees met at the Choctaw Nation UAS Test Range located at the Choctaw Nation’s Daisy Ranch in Durant, OK. The purpose of this visit was to share information on capabilities, expectations, and discuss the development of goals for Fiscal Year 2021. The Choctaw Nation UAS Test Range is a unique facility that offers 25 miles of unrestricted air space in a biodiverse environment. The site is used by industry, government, and educational entities for testing and research of UAS technologies.

Throughout the day it was exciting to hear about the potential activities for each sub-committee. Kim Sheppard, the Aeronautical Center Chief of Staff and member of the STEM sub-committee said, "it is exciting to work on an initiative that is bringing together public, private, and educational entities to spark the imagination of children in southeastern Oklahoma and to get them excited about working in the aviation and aerospace industry."

The Aeronautical Center and the Choctaw Nation both bring valuable aerospace expertise that can be leveraged to help the U.S. remain globally competitive in emerging aviation technology fields while also promoting educational opportunities for the citizens of the Choctaw Nation and the surrounding communities in southeastern Oklahoma. Truly, the sky is the limit for what this partnership can accomplish over the next three years.