A new group in Utah called Deseret Unmanned Aerial Systems is hoping to make the state a leader in the “wave of drone innovations.”

“The biggest untapped resource in the U.S. and the world is our airspace,” says Tulinda Larsen, executive director of Deseret UAS, via Deseret News. “And that's where Deseret UAS is stepping up.”

The result of a joint effort by Tooele and Box Elder counties in partnership with Ogden city, Deseret UAS is looking to advance the work of Utah businesses working in the UAS arena, and ultimately attract new endeavors to the state.

According to Tooele County Commissioner Shawn Milne, the idea behind the group came from the pursuit of new ideas to help create high-paying, tech-centric jobs for residents that were closer to home.

“Deseret UAS is the culmination of three years of hard work on behalf of Tooele and Box Elder counties aimed at creating jobs,” Milne says.

“Right now, 75 percent of our residents are commuting to the Salt Lake Valley for work and we recognized years ago that we want to reverse that trend.”

According to Larsen, the group’s headquarters will be at a space called the Xperience Center in Tooele that has a nearby area for small-scale test flying. The group is also working to secure larger test flight ranges.

Larsen says that one of the key issues that the group is addressing is a lack of testing facilities.

“In 2013, the FAA established seven test sites … the closest of which is in Nevada,” Larsen says. “But they're mostly being used for regulatory work, and commercial operators can't use the sites for testing.”

With this in mind, the group has already set up a conduit for UAS companies to make use of a Northrop Grumman (formerly Orbital ATK) site in Box Elder County. The group also has an FAA-approved urban testing area in Ogden and is working with the Tooele Army Depot to make use of a site there that could open up a 25-square-mile test range.

Ultimately, the group’s “raison d'être”—reason for being—is making Utah a leader in advancing and commercializing UAS technology, Larsen says. Larsen also believes that Deseret UAS will help accelerate the work of companies in Utah that are currently working in the UAS space, and will help attract new entities to the state.

“Are we going to move the needle,” Larsen says. “The answer is yes. We already have six companies knocking on our door...and I just spoke with a company that's talking about projects that will bring 350 jobs here to Utah.”

Deseret UAS plans to cut the ribbon on its new Xperience Center on Wednesday, Oct. 24.