The United States Navy awards the University of Alaska Fairbanks up to $47 million to test and evaluate payloads aboard small, unmanned aircraft. The UA Unmanned Aircraft Program, part of the UAF Geophysical Institute, will lead the research. The program will test unmanned aircraft and how they perform in harsh conditions. In addition, they will evaluate payloads, which are packages of data-collection instruments carried on the aircraft. The GI purchased its first unmanned aircraft in 2006.