TRAVERSE CITY — Local economic development officials are doubling down on their efforts to make the Grand Traverse region a leader in drone technology implementation.
The latest initiative is the formation of an initiative dubbed the “NorthSky Uncrewed Innovation Zone,” a partnership of the NorthSky Consortium that includes Northwestern Michigan College, the regional business incubator 20Fathoms and the Traverse Connect economic development organization. The project received a $30,000 boost from the Grand Traverse County Economic Development Corp. last week to help get it off the ground. It’s designed to draw more drone-associated businesses to the region, increase local workforce development efforts in the drone field and attract high-profile drone-related events to the region.
Officials estimate that the market value of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and uncrewed marine systems (UMS) is expected to exceed $150 billion by the end of the decade in various military, scientific and commercial applications. NorthSky Consortium partners say northwest Michigan is ideally suited for development as a drone zone because of its relatively uncongested air space, its diverse terrain and its proximity to Lake Michigan.
“The work is going somewhere,” said Kevin Endres, chair of the Grand Traverse County EDC Board. “We want to let people know that we’re open for business in this area and try to bring some of that work here.”
The state has already funneled more than $1.6 million in funds to the region from its Advanced Aerial Mobility Activation Fund to scale up a drone delivery pilot project launched last year by Traverse Connect, Munson Healthcare and several other partners. Munson started its portion of the project earlier this spring. It simulated the delivery of supplies, lab samples and medication using drones linking Munson Medical Center laboratory facilities on Sixth Street in Traverse City, Munson’s Copper Ridge Surgery Center in Garfield Township and the Munson Dialysis Center on West Royal Drive.
Traverse Connect, NMC and the U.S. Coast Guard also took part in a drone demonstration project in early May that included a simulated water rescue, water sampling and an underwater mapping project. Traverse Connect President and CEO Warren Call said the NorthSky Consortium wants to build on the momentum of those efforts and other regional assets to grow the area’s UAS sector.
“From a business standpoint I’d like to see some early-stage businesses come to our area,” Call said. “Certainly we’d like to see some demonstrable business engagements…I think there’s a lot of opportunity in this area.”
A white paper developed by the consortium highlights several regional assets it says can help advance drone technology.
“The area’s low population density reduces regulatory complexity and enhances safety for experimental and commercial drone flights,” according to the report. “Additionally, the region’s mixed-use landscape — spanning forests, farmland, small cities and coastal zones — provides a versatile testbed for real-world deployment scenarios.”
NMC is another ace-in-the-hole in terms of local drone-related assets, officials said. The college is home to Michigan’s first UAS Collegiate Training Initiative program under the Federal Aviation Administration that trains students for drone-related careers including as pilots, technicians and engineers. The area also has the Yuba UAS airfield north of Acme that offers 72 acres of dedicated drone testing facilities including two 800-foot runways. The airfield also supports workforce training and research efforts at NMC.
Call said the consortium is also working to bring an event called the Michigan Uncrewed Triple Challenge to the Grand Traverse region next year. The inaugural event was held in May between Alpena and the Camp Grayling military training center requiring teams to transport a package across water, air and land using unmanned systems from point to point in various conditions and obstacles with no human interaction.
The consortium also plans to expand its presence at various UAS trade shows over the next year, including the Xponential 2026 event set for May 11-14, 2026 in Detroit.
The consortium is also laying the groundwork for radar-related infrastructure upgrades to expand the Beyond Visual Line of Sight — or BVLOS zones — in the Grand Traverse region. The county EDC has formally endorsed Traverse Connect’s efforts to secure infrastructure funding from the county through the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, which generates revenue from taxes and fees on adult-use marijuana facilities in Grand Traverse. The county projects receiving more than $930,000 in pot sale revenues this year.
Call said initial cost estimates for implementing BVLOS infrastructure upgrades in the Traverse City to support the efforts of Munson, NMC and Cherry Capital Airport are upwards of $200,000. Implementing BVLOS zone technology between Traverse City and Camp Grayling is estimated at up to $2 million, he said.
“A (Federal Aviation Adminstration)-aligned zone will enable long-range drone operations for defense, research and commercial applications,” the consortium report states. “Together, these assets offer seamless access to uncongested airspace across rural and maritime environments, making Traverse City a premier location for Department of Defense/commercial joint testing and development.”