SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- People living in the Syracuse area will start noticing a new type of aircraft flying out of the local airport on a regular basis. The 174th Attack Wing is launching daily MQ-9 flight operations at both Hancock Field and Hancock International Airport beginning Wednesday.
An MQ-9 is an unmanned aircraft designed for high altitude surveillance by the United States military. Back in December, pilots staged the first unmanned flight in commercial airspace locally. Prior to that, the flights had been taking place out of Fort Drum.
Officials say there are safety precautions in place.
An aircraft flown by the Civil Air Patrol will be flying side-by-side with the drones to relay information to the MQ-9 pilots. That process will continue for every flight until new radar is put in place sometime next year.
The FAA modified the airspace around Hancock in 2013 to expand available training areas for these drones. The 174th Fighter Wing has been training more pilots to use this advanced aircraft.
It will be the first Air Force organization in the United States to fly this aircraft in what is known as "C" airspace -- the common airspace around commercial airports.
Officials say the manned plane will take off before the Reaper, and then trail it until it reaches restricted military air space. The two aircrafts will stay within a few hundred feet of each other the whole time.
Once training is done, the Air Patrol will then meet back up with the drone and trail it back to Syracuse.
New radar is being developed, and that will replaced the role of the manned aircraft once it's put in place.