Northern Michigan’s capacity for drone testing and deployment took a historical leap forward today with the announcement of the designation of the National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC) at Camp Grayling as a national Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) training and testing center. With this designation, the NADWC will serve as one of the designated national ranges for uncrewed aerial systems training and testing for military applications.
In July, following continued advocacy by the Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance, Michigan’s delegation, led by Senators Elissa Slotkin and Gary Peters and Representative Jack Bergman, advocated for the delegation of the NADWC as a national test site, citing the capabilities and demonstrated success of the UAS industry in the region and throughout the state of Michigan. Northern Michigan’s emerging leadership in the UAS industry has been led by the NADWC through its annual Exercise Northern Strike and hosting Michigan’s Uncrewed Triple Challenge in April 2025.
The Alliance advocated for the designation to the Northern Caucus, which led State Representative John Roth to offer additional support by leading a bipartisan group of state lawmakers in a joint letter late last year.
The commercial UAS industry in the region has expanded in Northwest Michigan through Munson Healthcare’s Medical Drone Delivery project, supported by Michigan’s Advanced Air Mobility Initiative and Northwestern Michigan College’s UAS Program and training center, which offers an Associate in Applied Science and a Certificate of Achievement. These programs led to the formation of the NorthSky Consortium to support the growth of uncrewed air and marine drone industries by establishing the Traverse City region as the NorthSky Uncrewed Innovation Zone, a national hub for innovation, commercialization, and workforce development. Designating the NADWC as a national test site provides a foundation to establish a corridor of UAS innovation and commercialization from the NADWC to the NorthSky Uncrewed Innovation Zone, bridging Lake Michigan to Lake Huron.
