WindShape opens its new Drone Testing Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma
From left to right : Russel Goff, Zachary Yap, Steve Cole, Jennifer Hankins, Guillaume Catry, Rose Washington, Trevor Comte Wilson, Shanese Slanton, Tiziano Fiorucci
A milestone moment for WindShape and Tulsa
On September 25, WindShape celebrated the official opening of its new Drone Testing Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, marking an important milestone for our mission to advance safe and reliable drone technologies.
The ribbon cutting ceremony together key partners, public officials, and members of Tulsa’s growing innovation ecosystem for a morning of speeches, networking, and live demonstrations inside our state-of-the-art facility. The ceremony began with a welcome reception, followed by opening remarks from three distinguished speakers :
- John Budd, CEO of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce
- Russel Goff, CEO of Osage LLC
- Jennifer Hankins - Managing Director of Tulsa Innovation Labs
Each speaker highlighted Tulsa’s ambition to become a central hub for drone innovation and advanced air mobility, as well as the importance of collaboration between industry, government, and community partners.
During his speech, WindShape CEO Guillaume Catry emphasized the long-term vision behind this new center and the journey that led to this moment. He reflected on the origins of the company and the invention of the WindShaper in 2015, a breakthrough tool that enables realistic, repeatable indoor drone testing in controlled wind conditions. Over the last decade, WindShape has equipped more than 80 laboratories around the world. The users of our products are primarily academic institutions and research organizations (such as Caltech, NASA, Oklahoma State University, and the U.S. Army) and they are making daily progress in advancing drone technology. What began as an academic idea has since evolved into a global solution now serving leading innovators across the drone industry.
As he explained:
«We are not just testing technology; we are building the protocols and methods that will enable the entire drone industry to grow.»
This ambition captures the purpose of the Tulsa facility: not only to test drones under controlled and realistic conditions, but to develop the methodologies and standards that will allow the industry to scale safely and confidently.
Steve Cole – Director of the WindShape Test Facility
John Budd – CEO of Oklahoma Department of Commerce
Russel Goff – CEO of Osage LLC
Jennifer Hankins, Managing Director of Tulsa Innovation Labs
A facility designed for impact
The WindShape Testing Center in Tulsa is equipped with advanced indoor wind-generation and environmental testing technologies. Designed to support a wide range of research, validation, and certification needs, the facility offers multiple specialized environments tailored for drone development and autonomous systems testing.
Our center includes:
Main Free Flight Arena
- Large enclosed area for safe free-flight drone testing with wind
- 16×12 WindShaper capable of generating winds up to 17 m/s
- High-precision motion-tracking system with millimeter accuracy
- Dynamic and static testing tools, including a 6-DOF robotic arm and force balance
- GNSS and satellite signal emulation capabilities
Cold Chamber
- Temperature-controlled room for cold, snow, and ice testing
- Capable of reaching –45 °F
- Large observation window and multi-point environmental monitoring
Wet Laboratory
- Purpose-built space for water exposure and moisture ingress testing
- Large-capacity drainage system and waterproof lighting
Subsystems Test Laboratory
- Dedicated area for propulsion, motor, battery, and component-level testing
- Propulsion test stands and a 6×3 WindShaper unit
Guest Work Room
- Secure workspace for customers
- Equipped with tools, power tools, 3D printing access, and workstation desks
If you’re interested in testing at our Tulsa facility or would like to learn more about our capabilities, our team is here to help.
Main free flight area – 16x12 WindShaper demonstration
Drone flying in front of the 16x12 WindShaper
Main free flight area – 16x12 WindShaper demonstration
Cold Chamber Demonstration
Cold Chamber Demonstration
Gratitude to our partners
We extend our sincere thanks to our partners who made this achievement possible:
- Osage Nation and Osage, LLC, for their support and care during the building renovation.
- Tulsa Innovation Labs and the GKFF entities, for years of support and for mapping the way to build a drone ecosystem in Tulsa.
- TEDC and Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST), for their support in helping to finance this facility.
- Oklahoma Department of Commerce, for their help and support.
- Our dedicated WindShape team — both in the U.S. and in Switzerland — for turning a 10-year-old dream into a reality.
They talked about us
Several outlets covered the event and shared their perspectives on what this new facility means for Tulsa and the drone industry.
FOX23 News — “WindShape opens first drone facility in U.S. in Tulsa”
https://www.fox23.com/news/windshape-opens-first-drone-facility-in-u-s-in-tulsa/article_10eaaad4-4fab-43cf-a63a-61fe6baa439e.html
OK Energy Today — “Osage LLC, WindShape, Skyway Range Tulsa”
https://www.okenergytoday.com/2025/09/osage-llc-windshape-skyway-range-tulsa/
Business Wire — “WindShape Opens First U.S. Facility in Tulsa”
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250925931079/en/WindShape-Opens-First-U.S.-Facility-in-Tulsa
Aerospace Global News – "WindShape expands global reach with new drone testing laboratories"
https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/windshape-expands-global-reach-with-new-drone-testing-laboratories/
Commercial UAV News – "Switzerland’s WindShape Opens Drone Testing Facility in Oklahoma"
https://www.commercialuavnews.com/switzerland-s-windshape-opens-drone-testing-facility-in-oklahoma