WLOX-TV Biloxi

Skydweller Aero makes home in South Mississippi with new drone testing facility in Hancock County

South Mississippi rolled out the red carpet with a ceremony as Skydweller Aero makes Hancock County its new home for drone testing.

By Ja'Colbi Rivers

KILN, Miss. (WLOX) - The sky’s the limit in Hancock County as Stennis International Airport is now home to a new testing facility for an unmanned solar-powered drone here in Mississippi, led by Skydweller Aero.

“We chose Stennis for the leadership represented here in Mississippi for both the state and federal levels,” Skydweller Aero CEO Robert Miller said.

Elected officials in Mississippi like Governor Tate Reeves, Congressman Mike Ezell, and both Senator Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith had the chance to not only tour the facility but also get an up close and personal look at the drone Skydweller made.

The unmanned solar-powered drone will be responsible for boosting the country’s defense by making sure no illegal drugs are crossing the border into the country. A common theme was talked about among the elected officials for Mississippi.

Mississippi is once again open for business with Governor Tate Reeves and Senator Roger Wicker both saying this will be a big step forward for the state.

“We do things here in Mississippi that no one else is doing anywhere else in the south or in the United States or in the world. And it’s because we can do things here in Mississippi that they can’t do anywhere else because we have smart, good, and hardworking people and focused on jobs for the next 50 years,” Governor Reeves said.

“It shows how far technology has gone. But it also shows that we can do this here in Mississippi with Mississippi people on the ground helping this to be successful and it’s ok for me to say the sky’s the limit,” Senator Roger Wicker said.

Skydweller says they are looking forward to a future partnership with Mississippi when it comes to testing more unmanned drones as well as strengthening the country’s defense, and they also said Mississippi was the perfect choice because of the people here in Hancock County.
   
  

Region