Name change approved for UAV Corp.

What’s in a name? The company that owns Skyborne Technology, which is building a detachable airship in Gulf County, is about to find out.

The UAV Corp has announced it has received notice from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a non-governmental organization that regulates member brokerage firms and exchange markets, that the name change from Han Tang Technology, Inc. to UAV Corp has become effective Monday, Jan. 11.

The stock symbol for the security, which trades over the counter, will go from HTTI to UMAV, slated to go into effect Feb. 10.

The acronym UMAV is commonly used to indicate an unmanned aerial vehicle, a design of which Skyborne Technology has invested in researching and developing at its manufacturing facility in Wewahitchka. Among its range of products, the company is counting on its seven-story high DATT, which stands for Detachable Airship from a Tethered Technology, will have a competitive advantage when it comes to semi-rigid and rigid airship design, reverse-ballonet technology, mooring and hybrid propulsion.

“It’s been a long waiting game to go ahead and allow the process to complete itself. We’re now gearing up on marketing strategy,” said Mike Lawson, CEO of UAV Corp.

“We are excited to now be operating under a name that is reflective of our business model and future expansion plans,” stated William Robinson, chairman of UAV.

In its release to the investment community, the company announced that on Jan. 5, the UAV Corp’s subsidiary, Skyborne Technology, Inc. had received a letter from the Gulf County board of commissioners regarding the start of infrastructure improvements at Costin Airport, which UAV owns.

The letter noted that the county had received a $615,448 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and a $489,420 grant from state’s Department of Economic Opportunity, to fund a $1.1 million package to be used for the design, permitting, and construction improvements along Cessna Drive, which include a paved road, new waterline, new sewer line, and three-phase power.

“This was a critical piece to run in parallel of the build of the new airship and drone hangar as this will be the largest building in Gulf County,” Lawson said, in a press release announcing the name change.

The county is currently advertising for engineering services in order to complete the design and permitting of this project, and once the design is complete the county will receive bids for the construction of these improvements.”

“We are thrilled by the federal and state grants in support of the UAV Corp/Skyborne project,” said Jim McKnight, director of the Gulf County Economic Development Council. “Those funds will allow Gulf County to provide the infrastructure necessary for UAV Corp's hangar project and serve as an incentive to other aerospace businesses considering locating in our community."

Lawson said it should be about six to nine months to complete the building, a time frame parallel to a roughly six-month period for getting the infrastructure improvements completed.

“We will have the building out by the end of the year,” he said. “It all has to jive together.”

This article originally appeared on The Star: Name change approved for UAV Corp.