## 1 Introduction  
This paper describes efforts by the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)/NASA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) program to safely integrate UAS into the US National Airspace System (NAS). It details the flight campaigns of UAF's Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI), an FAA UAS Test Site, in supporting the program goals and objectives. The paper outlines UAF's flight campaign activities, demonstration results, and continuing efforts in support of the UTM program and long-term Beyond Visual Line-Of-Sight (BVLOS) operations necessary for conduct of arctic research and public service missions in Alaska. The remainder of this section examines the popularity of UAS, some economic drivers behind this trend, and the need to smartly regulate the integration of UAS activities within the NAS. Section 2, Materials and Methods, details UAF's participation in the UTM program through Technical CapabilityLevel (TCL) phases 1-3. Section 3, Discussion, highlights results of the flight campaigns, technical achievements, and lessons learned. Section 4, Conclusions, outlines ongoing efforts and future work needed to advance UAF's BVLOS capabilities in the remote Alaskan environment. The Appendix A includes a comprehensive list of acronyms, excerpts from the NASA Statements of Work (SoW), and list of references. Background: The US and the world have seen a dramatic rise in popularity and application of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in recent years. UAS of many sizes, shapes, and characteristics are being flown in unprecedented numbers and applications today. Like many other technological advances that consumers interact with on a daily basis, UAS, aka Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), or \"drones\", applications are expanding daily. UAS initially were expensive and of limited utility to the general public, but recent technological improvements and market forces as shown in Figure 1A, have resulted in a virtual explosion in the availability of complex and affordable UAS capable of satisfying a wide spectrum of mission sets and operating requirements [1] (p. 5). A 2020 survey of over 1000 participants showed that 15% of Americans have flown a drone, and 8% own at least one [2] (pp. 1-3). This shows the increasing interest in UAS by hobbyists, but the need for UAS technology is increasingly being noticed by the commercial sector as well. UAS are now applicable to a multitude of sectors including media, real estate, disaster response, mining, maritime, education, construction, tourism, utilities, agriculture, meteorology, aviation, and logistics including the experimentation of home delivery by large logistical companies such as Amazon, UPS, and Google [3] (p. 2). This technology is now so highly in demand that the number of UAS over 55 pounds is expected to surpass the number of active GA (General Aviation) aircrafts in less than 15 years as seen in Figure 1B [4] (p. 8). Integrating UAS into the NAS: Although technological advancements regarding UAS and their popularity are both on the rise [6] (p. 1), there are other barriers slowing UAS growth potential, including Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, public acceptance, and national/state infrastructure [7] (p. 2). One of the largest barriers in growing the UAS-based economy sector today is the need to responsibly and safely integrate UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS). While UAS have been in existence for over a century, integration of these aircraft for civilian purposes into the NAS has not yet been established, as the UAS flight is still too unique to completely adopt General Aviation's (GA's) current system. The need for regulations specifically governing the use of small UAS under 55 lbs. has been highly voiced, but at present does not match the technical capability and popularity of today's systems.