Altavian, IA Tech, of UF Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering join other unmanned aircraft systems companies in accelerating jobs and tech transfer in city.
Gainesville has become a hotbed for small companies that provide drones for military reconnaissance, aerial surveys of civil engineering projects or environmental surveys.
Out of five such companies, two recently stepped up to compete with major defense contractors for a share of a $248 million contract from the U.S. Army to provide small unmanned aircraft systems.
Altavian and Innovative Automation Technologies — or IA Tech — of Gainesville were awarded the contract on Dec. 21…