With Indiana named as one of two new national drone test sites that could attract jobs and boost the economy, the town of Bargersville wants a seat at the table.
The Trump administration designated Indiana as one of two new national drone test sites in January this year, with Sen. Todd Young, a Bargersville resident, spearheading the effort to land the site.
Bargersville officials, developers and manufacturers gathered Monday morning at The Barn at Aberdeen Farms, a community space at the Aberdeen neighborhood’s “agrihood,” to hear how Indiana can be a leading state in the drone defense industry and Bargersville could be at the center of it.
The new designated test site for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, UAS, is owned by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. with the Applied Research Institute as the operating agent.
Oklahoma was chosen as the second new site, according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s website. The FAA currently designates seven drone test sites in Alaska, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia.
Universities and military assets were emphasized in Indiana’s application, highlighting Purdue University, Camp Atterbury, Muscatatuck Urban Training Center and Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane. The drone test site’s flight path will likely be a wide swath encompassing Purdue University and southern Indiana.
Bargersville is the fastest growing community in Johnson County and one of the fastest growing in the state. With the expansion of Interstate 69, officials have been eyeing key developments along its corridor.
“We are in the middle of the new drone testing flight path,” said Dax Norton, town manager. “Which is a unique place for us to be.”
The new test site will mean more training opportunities for the Indiana National Guard and other military who come here to train, Young said. There will also be spillover economic benefits to communities that host them and high-paying jobs for Hoosiers, he said.
Highlighted in Indiana’s application, was Indiana’s Technology Readiness and Experimentation initiative at Camp Atterbury, which in August “demonstrated the ability to neutralize a 49-drone swarm with a single electromagnetic pulse,” as well as testing space at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center and counter-UAS work at Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane.
“What this test site offers Indiana is a center of gravity to build an ecosystem around it to trigger the drone defense industry,” said Maj. Gen. R. Dale Lyles, former leader of the Indiana National Guard. “I say that because right now Indiana has some of the best special-use airspace this side of the Mississippi River with Camp Atterbury.”
In October 2025, Gov. Mike Braun signed an executive order to position Indiana to lead in the federal government’s mission of American drone dominance through the “Indiana Initiative for Drone Dominance Task Force.”
This task coordinates work across government, universities and private industry to support federal efforts to strengthen U.S. leadership in drone technology and airspace security.
“Right now, people come to Indiana and they test and then they leave,” Lyles said. “I’m convinced that the first big contract that we get to bring something here, wherever it is, Bargersville hopefully, it will then attract others.”
The FAA UAS test sites will support development, testing and scaling of American drone technologies, with a focus on Beyond Visual Line of Site operations, increasingly autonomous operations, advanced air mobility and other operations. The nine sites will facilitate the safe commercialization of drone technologies along with reshaping the future of aviation.
During a fireside chat moderated by the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, or AVUSI, Young said drones have come to occupy an essential part of the economy.
“This is an opportunity to figure out how we can best serve the needs of our national security community and our commercial partners to create an environment in which Hoosiers and other Americans can manufacture these drones and components and come up with areas of service delivery,” Young said.
State officials have made it known the desire to take Indiana’s “manufacturing heritage” and bring that into manufacturing next-generation technologies, Young said.
“The FAA drone test bed designation, which is currently a statewide air designation, creates some airspace that will allow flying of drones,” Young said. “We’re going to more clearly define in fairly short order exactly where drones should be flown and where that testing can occur.”
On the federal level, Young said he publicly supports these opportunities for the state to be leaders in manufacturing new technology.
“I’m starting to do that more vigorously and robustly, as I think members of the media and all other stakeholders sense the opportunities here for Indiana,” he said.
As Indiana continues to seek out new economic opportunities in tech such as data center, Young said educating the public is the most important.
“There are some fair critiques of having a data center in any given community, and so if that voice is the only voice that receives the strongest weight of communication as compared to the other voices, then you’re really not educating the American people about the pluses and minuses, and that’s all people ask and communities need,” he said. “So let’s not make that mistake. Let’s ensure that as it relates to drones, privacy concerns are addressed.”
As a Bargersville resident, Young said local authorities have been very methodical in developing its town and see’s the area or the surrounding area as a prime location for drone manufacturing and testing.
“There’s leadership that’s looking for the next big thing and trying to figure out how maybe we can be on the leading edge of that next big thing,” he said.
After the fireside chat, Town Council Vice President Jamie Pheifer said he believes Bargersville could be the epicenter for drone manufacturing.
“I think from just a jobs and infrastructure perspective we’re ideally located,” he said. “We’ve got a beautiful quality of life here and I just think we can really be the epicenter for this.”
The town council is always looking for these kinds of opportunities and hoping the town will be seen as a great place for companies to grow, said Andrew Greenwood town council president.