Thales, Kelly Hills Launch BVLOS Drone

Thales and Kelly Hills Unmanned Systems will deploy a beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone network in Kansas. The partnership with the Kansas Department of Agriculture will support crop spraying, scouting, fertilizing, and seeding operations.

Thales's TopSky air traffic control automation platform will provide the digital backbone for the network. TopSky manages roughly 40 percent of global airspace and operates in more than 100 countries. Kelly Hills will handle the commercial deployment of the services, while Thales will manage airspace integration under FAA regulatory standards.

Network Capabilities and Goals

The program aims to enable scalable BVLOS operations that could extend to other use cases across the national airspace system. Detect-and-avoid systems within the network are designed to mitigate risk to people, property, and other aircraft.

Precision application of fertilizers and pesticides is a key benefit. This approach reduces input use and environmental impact. Farmers can cover larger areas in less time compared to using ground crews or manned aircraft.

Rob Geckle, CEO of Thales North America, stated the company's expertise is being applied to a new era of aviation. "Together with Kelly Hills, we're helping unlock the full potential of agricultural drones, improving precision, productivity, and sustainability while paving the way for BVLOS operations at scale across the U.S.," Geckle said, according to the source.

Building on the Vantis Model

The Kansas initiative builds on Thales's work with the Vantis network in North Dakota. The Northern Plains UAS Test Site runs Vantis, which is described as the industry's first FAA-approved data enclave for uncrewed aircraft systems. This network stores, analyzes, and protects sensitive flight data for national airspace integration.

Kansas will receive the same core capability for its farming and ranching sector. Lukas Koch, CEO of Kelly Hills Unmanned Systems, linked the partnership to a mission of revolutionizing rural skies. "Partnering with Thales allows us to bring a robust suite of BVLOS tools and capabilities to agriculture, enabling farmers to work smarter, safer, and more efficiently in Kansas," Koch said.

Koch further claimed the project would bring Kansas to the forefront and create scalable solutions for farming and ranching operations across the entire United States. More information is available from Thales.