Tiny Oregon city doubles down on drone testing with new hangar

In the high desert of northeast Oregon, a new building is going up—but this isn’t your average airport hangar. The City of Pendleton, Oregon this month broke ground on what it’s calling Flex Hangar III.

This is the first permanent structure within what is the city’s rapidly expanding UAS Industrial Park. Spanning 18,000 square feet, the hangar is designed to support commercial drone operators, defense contractors and advanced air mobility (AAM) companies testing at the Pendleton UAS Test Range — a vast, FAA-approved drone corridor covering 14,000 square miles.

The new three-bay hangar, slated for completion in January 2026, will include 60-foot bi-fold doors, climate-controlled office space and 10 Gbps fiber connectivity. It also offers direct access to Taxiway Golf (that’s an aviation term for a specific taxiway at an airport connecting runways to other aspects of the airport, like this hangar). With it, drone companies have easily integration with the adjacent runway at Eastern Oregon Regional Airport.

All about the Pendleton UAS Test Range

The range typically supports 10+ programs at any given time, and has facilitated nearly 65,000 UAS operations to date. That volume has been made possible by both ample airspace and an unusually drone-friendly ATC tower, which works closely with operators to support complex flight plans. It’s created countless jobs (both in the drone industry, as well as in industries that support business including hotels and restaurants).

Pendleton’s 14,000-square-mile test area is more than just a claim to bragging rights—it allows for advanced operations including:

• Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) testing (with support in securing FAA waivers)
• Night operations
• Swarming and coordinated multi-aircraft flight
• Class IV laser testing
• Testing across varied terrain: forests, mountains, desert, and farmland

Operators can test in real-world conditions while pushing the limits of autonomy, range, and environmental resilience. And with an operating ceiling up to 15,000 ft MSL, the range offers a level of vertical freedom few others can match.

What programs use the Pendleton UAS Test Range?

The Pendleton UAS Test Range, owned and operated by the city, has become a proving ground for some of the drone industry’s most ambitious programs.

Among the companies that have publicly shared details about their operations out of the facility include tactical dronemaker Astrium and NASC, which has provided drones for the Department of Defense and is currently working on its ArcticShark drone designed to operate in temperatures well below freezing.

Then there are some drone delivery companies, such as medical drone delivery Spright, which was then acquired by Air Methods but ultimately shut down. And then — most notably — there’s Amazon Prime Air. That’s the drone delivery company affiliated with Amazon, but that has struggled to keep pace with rivals like Wing and Zipline. Amazon’s program has been marred by frequent leadership turnover, technical setbacks, and multiple high-profile crashes — some of which occurred during testing in Pendleton.

A spokesperson for the test site would not comment on Amazon’s (or any company’s) specific operations.

“As a matter of policy, we do not confirm or deny specific customer operations,” said Cole Rixe, Business Development Manager for the Pendleton UAS Range. “Many of our commercial and defense customers value the privacy and anonymity that operating in Pendleton provides.”

What to expect when the Flex Hangar III opens

That Flex Hangar offers yet another reason for drone companies to head to Pendleton.

In fact, Rixe said the city has already secured one signed letter of intent from a future tenant and is seeing “strong interest from several others.” Pre-leasing was only recently opened, and the hangar represents an intentional investment in attracting long-term programs that require both hangar space and integrated ground infrastructure.

Year-round operations are a core part of the pitch. Thanks to Pendleton’s semi-arid climate (just 12–13 inches of rain per year), weather rarely grounds flights. Every parcel in the UAS Industrial Park comes equipped with industrial power, water and high-speed fiber, making the area not just airspace-rich—but also plug-in ready.

Flex Hangar III also features modern safety systems, including robust fire suppression, and was designed with lessons learned over years of operations. Those learnings presumably include responses to safety incidents, like those involving Prime Air, though Pendleton officials emphasize compliance with all federal reporting requirements, regardless of the operator.

And then what’s next?

Flex Hangar III is just the start of a broader vision. Pendleton’s long-term plan includes:

• Full build-out of both sides of two paved cul-de-sacs, one completed and one in the planning phase, running parallel to Taxiway Golf
• Additional purpose-built hangars and workshops on each parcel
• Potential for manufacturing and assembly buildings further back from the taxiway
• A proposed air traffic control center upgrade to keep pace with expanding operations

What are these FAA test sites?

The FAA-designated UAS test sites, established under the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, are a network of strategically located facilities created to advance drone integration into the National Airspace System. Managed in partnership with universities, state governments and research institutions, these test sites — which are found elsewhere around the country including North Dakota and New York — serve as crucial hubs for validating technologies like beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), detect-and-avoid systems, autonomy, and advanced air mobility (AAM) platforms.

Each site offers unique geographic and regulatory advantages, ranging from extreme weather testing to proximity to military ranges, and plays a vital role in supporting both commercial innovation and public safety by enabling real-world flight testing under FAA oversight.

Rixe says the Pendleton site stands out for its access and affordability.

“Because we are owned and operated by the City of Pendleton, our mission is centered on economic development—not profit,” Rixe said. “That allows us to offer unmatched speed, flexibility and affordability.”

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