Howard Kyle, President, National Aviation Research and Technology Park
Once an economy fueled by gaming and tourism, the Atlantic County region is looking to the skies for its future economic engine in the form of the aerospace sector. As technology innovation ushers in the next stage of navigation, the developments happening at the National Aviation Research and Technology Park trailblaze what the future of the industry will look like. In an interview with Invest:, Howard Kyle, president of National Aviation Research and Technology Park, highlighted what the future of the aerospace sector will look like and its impact to the state of New Jersey overall. “There is good faith in the aerospace industry because of the new phase of aviation,” Kyle said.
What recent changes have impacted your operations?
First and foremost would be the advancement of technologies related to unmanned aerial systems. There is a need to integrate unmanned aerial systems into the national airspace sector. That is something that we are interested in, and we actually have a project underway to do this. We are also working closely with the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) on the introduction of autonomous vehicles in military and civilian airfield environments. Currently, certain technologies are commercially available but have not been certified for use on an airport or military airfield, so we are going through the process of expediting this so that those technologies can become FAA-certified.
We are also involved with AI and machine learning in aviation. We started construction of a second building, a 40,000-square-foot facility that will host a strategic aviation innovation center. We are also working with Rowan University on establishing an academic research collaborative to advance the mission.
We have a key partnership with the FAA, and a significant development is that the FAA is trying to upgrade its air traffic control system as a result of the problems happening in airports across the nation. This is a project that is long overdue and entails a significant amount of investment. A lot of the certification and research work will have to be done at the FAA Center for Aerospace here in Atlantic County.
We are also working on a project in tandem with the Air Mobility Command that will help us form a larger aviation research hub.
How does the Park help foster economic development?
This is a cooperative effort between the county, state, and the federal government. The purpose is not to build a research park or aviation innovation hub for its own sake, but to jump-start an aviation industry. With our partners, there are efforts to get air cargo underway and there has been some progress on this effort. There are also plans to develop an aviation maintenance and repair organization, which will be of interest to the military.
How do strategic partnerships further the overall aviation industry in the state?
Local partnerships complement what is being done at the state level in terms of developing an aviation economy. We are working closely with NJEDA, which has made an $8.5 million investment in the park to help create the strategic innovation center. This is one component that we hope to develop with other universities to foster an innovation economy, which lines up with the state’s plans.
We also have our first startup in the park. We assist startups with space for their operations and with equipment to do their work.
This region needs to overcome a decades-long dependence on gaming and tourism. Gaming and tourism will not carry the region into the future, especially since other states also offer this product. Technology is where everything is going. AI is rapidly transforming many things and we are trying to prepare the region for this.
What industry trends are you keeping a close eye on?
We are entering what some are calling the third stage of aviation. The first stage was early propeller-driven crafts, such as what the Wright brothers operated with, which took us through WWII. Post WWII, we started developing jet transportation, international travel, and all the related infrastructure and radar support. Now, we are moving into autonomous flights and drone crafts. With the advancements in this area, we want to be ahead of the times.
What are some key challenges for the industry?
The biggest challenge is sustainable funding. We are working on a model where we can be financially sustainable. We get economic assistance from local governments and to really advance in the preliminary work to get research projects to the point where you can get the grant money is where the challenge is currently. We have worked on a few projects where we have been able to successfully get grants. We have a reasonable surplus of funds to help through difficult times, but to continue to grow, we need to have a strong revenue stream. Another challenge is getting people on board with the new technologies. Some people are resistant to change in the face of new technologies, maybe because they do not fully understand them. It is hard to get them excited. It is really hard to get them fired up. This is the case with AI and machine learning. What is happening in relation to AI is that it is replacing a whole class of employees and it is opening up new opportunities for high-level AI users. There are some inherent concerns about AI but there are serious benefits. The ability to manage this is what is necessary at this point in time.
What is the outlook for the aerospace sector in the region for the near term?
There is good faith in the aerospace industry because of the new phase of aviation. There are exciting projects geared toward autonomous flights and unmanned aerial systems. Aviation has always been a leading industry in America, and one of the industries where America has been a net exporter of technology. This is one of the things that we are focusing on. We will be working on continuing to integrate AI into aviation. The biggest thing, however, is to make sure that we have the workforce for the future.
