A coalition in upstate New York is creating a 50-mile (80-kilometer) corridor where unmanned aircraft can safely fly beyond the line of sight and drone traffic control systems can be tested.

With $30 million in state investment, the unmanned aircraft traffic management corridor between Rome and Syracuse will be outfitted with radar and ground-based sensors to enable what Gov. Andrew Cuomo calls “the most advanced drone testing in the country.”

The Democratic governor was on hand when the first segment of the corridor was launched last month by the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance.

The Alliance is based at Rome’s Griffiss International Airport, one of seven sites around the country partnered with NASA to test technology that will open the national airspace to commercial drones.

(AP)