About Us

The Virginia Unmanned Systems Center at VIPC (VUSC) is a catalyst for the growth of autonomous and unmanned systems across the air, ground, maritime, and space domains. The Center was established as the nexus for collaboration among businesses, investors, universities, entrepreneurs, and governments. In fact, Business Facilities Magazine ranked Virginia the #1 state in the nation for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) because of its industry leadership, facilities, and connections to both the military and civilian markets.

As it continues operations for the fourth year, the VUSC has identified its priorities to accelerate the development and adoption of unmanned systems. These efforts include:

Launching the Virginia Flight Information Exchange (VA-FIX), which is a public-private partnership with Virginia’s Department of Aviation and Department of Transportation and ATA, a full stack data science company headquartered in Vienna, Virginia.

Promoting the use of UMS-based solutions to the COVID-19 emergency response.

Creating new pilot projects with Virginia state agencies and private companies to demonstrate the use of UMS technology.

Developing partnerships for Virginia companies with major service providers (such as package delivery, public safety, infrastructure).

Supporting the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) as it expands services with the BEYOND Program, an initiative by the Federal Aviation Administration focused on Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations.

Creating a speakers bureau of subject matter experts to help promote the value of the industry, which has become an integral part of Virginia’s economy.

Organizing Virginia’s participation at the industry’s largest international conference and trade show, AUVSI Xponential, with the support of key corporate sponsors of the Virginia Pavilion.

VUSC is assisted by a 24-member advisory board and an extensive stakeholder community, which brings together expertise and leadership from across the Commonwealth to guide strategies and priorities. The Center will continue to maintain this website as a comprehensive resource of information about the unmanned systems industry in Virginia.

Unmanned Systems in Virginia

The principal charge of the UMS Center is ”to support the advancement of unmanned systems companies and development of the unmanned systems industry in the Commonwealth.”

Tracy Tynan, a familiar and well-respected advocate for UMS, is the Center’s director. She provides extensive leadership experience to serve this dynamic community of public and private sector innovators and entrepreneurs.

Uniquely Positioned

With a central location in the nation’s Mid-Atlantic region, Virginia is well suited to advance the unmanned systems industry. It lies within proximity to policymakers in Washington, as well as both suppliers and users of unmanned systems for defense, agriculture, infrastructure, and public safety and homeland security purposes.

The UMS industry requires a variety of resources for developing, testing, and deploying applications. Virginia has a rich variety of environments to support these activities. They range from deep water international seaports, to aviation test sites and ranges and world-class space-launch facilities, to open roads and driverless-vehicle test tracks.

Combine these resources with a family-friendly quality of life and affordable cost of living, and it is obvious why Virginia is open for business.

Home to Innovation

Virginia is home to several of the top universities in the country, with many offering advanced courses and programs in cybersecurity, software design, law and policy, science and research, and engineering. They are designed to match the capabilities and expertise needed for companies and organizations involved with unmanned and robotics systems to succeed.

Our workforce possesses high-tech skills, including those gained by military veterans returning to civilian life from our many defense installations. It has also been developed to support the Comprehensive Economic Development Policy (CEDP) for the Commonwealth and the unmanned systems industry. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) - formerly CIT-, and the Governor's Office are also available for assistance.

Virginia is a pioneer in exploring the impact of cybersecurity on the unmanned systems industry. In addition to cyber, our technology leaders are focused on synchronizing and facilitating a union between industries in a way that will simultaneously advance all unmanned systems domains. These initiatives include modeling and simulation, controls, advanced manufacturing, and other areas. For more information, see VEDP's Why Virginia? page.

Shaping the Future

Governor Northam and the Virginia General Assembly recognize the important role the unmanned systems industry will have in the growth of the state’s economy. As one of the industry’s stakeholders, you are helping to shape the future of how we all will live, work, and play.

However, our ability to champion your interests and develop greater business opportunities will rely heavily on your input and engagement. We have met with thousands of stakeholders to understand their views and opinions. That learning process will continue to ensure Virginia provides the infrastructure, policy, marketing, career, and networking opportunities that are needed to realize your unmanned systems visions.

There is no time like the present to get involved. Just click here to contact us and we will quickly respond to your message: Virginia Center for Unmanned Systems at VIPC