As beyond visual line of sight BVLOS operations continue to expand across utilities, public safety, infrastructure inspection and the broader industry, the need for reliable, low-complexity airspace awareness has never been greater. While many successful options rely on constant cellular connectivity or elaborate setups, which can be exceptional in support of safety, they often prove cumbersome or unreliable in remote areas or where rapid deployment is necessary.

Enter uAvionix skyAlert, a compact, body-worn ADS-B receiver built specifically for UAS field pilots and visual observers.

skyAlert delivers real-time audible and visual alerts for cooperative aircraft broadcasting ADS-B Out on both 978 MHz UAT and 1090 MHz frequencies. No installation or mounting hassles: simply clip it to your belt or vest with the included RAM® mount, power it on, and it acquires GPS to begin receiving signals in seconds. A rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides up to 12 hours of runtime, with USB-C charging for quick top-ups in the field.

Why skyAlert Delivers True Situational Awareness

Situational awareness remains one of the most effective layers of safety in shared airspace. skyAlert makes it straightforward with configurable alert zones for altitude and range, plus auto-adjusting LED brightness that adapts to any lighting condition. What sets it apart is complete independence from LTE or data connectivity, relying solely on direct ADS-B for traffic reception and local Wi-Fi for integrations. This makes it ideal for remote environments where cell service is unreliable or nonexistent, such as long-range utility corridor inspections or public safety missions which can sometimes occur in rural and wilderness areas.

For added capability, the ability to pair skyAlert with an EFB application such as ForeFlight, SkyDemon or WingX increases its functionality with flight crews of 2 or more people. The device broadcasts GDL-90 formatted traffic data over a local Wi-Fi SSID, enabling your crew to view live surrounding aircraft directly on a tablet or phone, even in areas with no internet or cellular coverage. This near-zero-latency visibility supports safer decision-making while maintaining focus on the UAS, helping meet FAA BVLOS and drone as a first responder requirements.

Real-World Performance in Utilities and Public Safety

skyAlert is already demonstrating its value in demanding, disconnected operations where dependable traffic alerting can make all the difference.

Dave Krause, President of Influential Drones, put skyAlert to the test during high-hover operations at 850 feet AGL at the Norton Test Range in California. He was roughly 3.7 nautical miles from KREI and 9 miles from San Bernardino International Airport (KSBD). With two skyAlert units configured, one alerting at 5,000 feet @ 3,000 feet AGL and the other at 14,000 feet @ 5,000 feet AGL, and a task plan that included 11 mitigation strategies that including a NOTAM and courtesy notice to the ATC tower even though he was operating in Class-G airspace. The devices detected three incursions: one at 2,300 feet and two at 4,000 feet. “The skyAlerts did exactly what I needed them to do,” Dave reported. The timely alerts enabled the team to respond effectively and maintain operational safety.

Isaac Piche, Director of Remote Sensing at Quanta Aviation Services, a renowned leader in UAS support for utility infrastructure, including transmission line installations, inspections, and rope-pulling projects, shared feedback from trials conducted across multiple crews. “We require airspace deconfliction and situational awareness via ADS-B tracking with all of our UAS operations across Quanta and have recently trialed the SkyAlert for several of our UAS crews,” he explained. “Cellular based ADS-B apps have unreliable service in remote areas, and we’ve seen pilots with an ADS-B app open on an iPad looking for traffic, not seeing anything on flight radar, but the SkyAlert goes off and within a minute we have a Piper Cub flying over us at about 150′ AGL – just having a ball. Luckily, the ~3NM alarm was plenty of time to descend to the conductor height and wait until he was out of our AO. We are considering requiring ALL UAS pilots across Quanta, as well as our third-party vendors to have one on-site and operational during any missions supporting Quanta projects.”

These experiences highlight skyAlert’s strengths in utilities for monitoring expansive grids in isolated locations and in public safety for missions where connectivity cannot be assumed.

Elevating Safety in Today’s Airspace

As BVLOS continues to scale, simple yet effective tools like skyAlert help bridge the gap between regulatory compliance and practical safety. Whether supporting utility infrastructure surveys or public safety response in challenging environments, this portable ADS-B receiver keeps crews informed and focused on the task at hand.

See and be seen. It’s that straightforward.

Ready to add skyAlert to your operations? Visit the skyAlert product page to learn more or reach out to our UAS team for details. We’re here to help build safer, more capable airspace together.