69th RG, 319th ABW commanders speak at UAS Summit

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Bonnie Grantham
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS, N.D. --  The Ninth Annual UAS Summit and Expo held this week brought in many guest speakers to include senators and governors, as well as two commanders from Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota.

Col. Christopher Larson, 69th Reconnaissance Group commander, and Col. Rodney Lewis, 319th Air Base Wing commander, spoke Sept. 21 at Grand Sky's Congressional Breakfast to more than 200 people, all interested in the advancement of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) in North Dakota and around the globe.

Lewis described Grand Forks AFB as a "unique" base because the Air Mobility Command air base is home to an Air Combat Command tenant unit, the 69th RG, and because of the new community partnership that is the Grand Sky Technology Park.

"I consider it a privilege to serve as the commander of the 319th Air Base Wing in this extraordinary time for the base, and I look forward to working with our mission partners," Lewis said.

The multi-faceted mission of the base provides "awesome possibilities for synergies in the future," noted Lewis.

He stressed, though, that whether Grand Forks AFB operates B-52 Stratofortresses, as it did in the past, or unmanned aircraft such as the Global Hawk, the vision of the base will remain the same.

"Defending freedom is always going to be the call of the base," said Lewis. "Every day the combatant commands get something from Grand Forks AFB."

Integration was the theme of Larson's speech as he provided insight into the affordability and the long-term sustainment of the RQ-4 Global Hawk.

"The amount of flying time is the key enabler to affordability," said Larson, referring to the RQ-4 Global Hawk's capability to fly long periods of time without stopping or needing to refuel. "The large number of flying hours drives down the cost of flying."

The RQ-4 Global Hawk has received the Dr. James G. Roche Sustainment Excellence Award for three consecutive years, speaking to its sustainability.

Larson said he hopes to see the term "unmanned" become an attribute, rather than a defining factor because both platforms - manned and unmanned - are essential for the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission.

"If we don't play well together, we're doing a disservice," said Larson. "We need interoperability."

The amount of people and the North Dakota political leadership who attended is no small testament to the support the community has for the UAS program here.

"The great turn out of people and the level of direct North Dakota political leadership involvement from the governor's office and the North Dakota senators speaks volumes of how seriously the state is engaged in the future success of the UAS industry in the state of North Dakota," said Larson.

Lieutenant Governor Drew Wrigley and U.S. Senator John Hoeven spoke about the importance of North Dakota's involvement in the UAS development and how Grand Forks AFB plays a role in that.

"The Grand Forks Air Force Base team has been important for proving the importance of the Global Hawk," said Hoeven.

Hoeven announced that the Grand Sky Technology Park, which is being built on land leased to it by the base, will be signing a ten-year contract with General Atomics in order to train RPA pilots.

"Training pilots at Grand Sky will play a key role in supporting the Air Force and defending the United States," said Hoeven.

In the end, the UAS Summit and Expo proved to be a successful venue for Lewis and Larson to showcase the base's relationship with the community and further strengthen ties.

"The UAS summit provided a great opportunity to highlight the relationship the base has with the local community," Larson said after the event.  "The involvement [from the governor's office and the North Dakota senators] has direct impact on the overall UAS industry and will be one more important factor in driving the FAA towards a safe yet integrated set of rules for full UAS access to the National Airspace System which is a critical enabler for the Department of Defense today and into the future."