UAS test range is making history

By Terry Murry on Friday, March 18th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News Featured Stories

PENDLETON – The Pendleton UAS Test Range expects to perform close to 20,000 unmanned aircraft systems operations this year. Range Manager Darryl Abling says when he started in 2016, the range had 50 operations. It is now one of the busiest test ranges approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.

“The city has invested in infrastructure, which is always important,” he said. “Having that capacity here and available immediately has been a big draw.”

He said that the city took a risk with those investments, but now it’s paying off. Part of that, Abling said, is due to the staff.

“We get things done,” he said. “We like to say that we move at the speed of business. Companies ask and it’s done.”

The Pendleton airfield has a rich history as the training ground for many of Doolittle’s Raiders and the home of the Triple Nickels during World War II. Abling said that the UAS test range will play a role in the history books of the future.

“We are definitely making history,” he said. “When autonomous vehicles are flying around and it’s common place, people can point back to Pendleton and say, ‘Hey, this is where it started.’”