Middle Tennessee State University and the Army Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aircraft Systems announced Thursday they have joined in a memorandum of understanding to establish the Center for Unmanned Systems Operational Advancement and Research at the university.

Located in Murfreesboro, Tenn., about two hours from the PM UAS office, MTSU will begin a dedicated curriculum centered on unmanned systems inside its airspace sciences major.

The school also has multiple certificates of authorization from the FAA that allow them to fly Insitu's ScanEagle, AAI's Aerosonde and an L-3 Viking 400. Next they will work on securing smaller UAS, starting when the Army supplies the school with Ravens this autumn. The COAs allow the school to fly at less than 10,000 feet in Savannah, Tenn., at ISR Group's facility, the school's industry partner. MTSU's flying data will be available for use by the PM UAS.

Starting this autumn, 16 students are enrolled in the first unmanned systems course.

Source: Flight Daily News