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Lubrecht Experimental Forest (LEF)
LEF's controlled environment and flexible regulations make it one of the few testbeds in the country that supports real fire movement and UAS operations at this scale.
Headwaters Tech Hub Testbeds offer distinct environments, including varied terrain, controlled settings, and advanced connectivity, designed to help partners test and demonstrate near-commercial products in real-world conditions. Our testbeds specialize in smart photonic sensing systems with applications in natural resource management, national defense, precision agriculture, wildfire resilience, and disaster prevention.
Vision: Montana is a place where innovation thrives.
Mission: Catalyze innovation to derisk and demonstrate novel technologies in Montana’s critical industries. We will accomplish this by leveraging Montana’s unique landscape and optical sensing strengths.
UAV Sensor Validation
Wildfire Resilience
5-mile BVLOS Operational Radius
Scheduled Blast Testing
Ag-Tech Validation
Spring/Fall Prescribed Burns
3,000 Feet of Tunnels
12,000 MAES Acres for Scalability
Crop Breeding + Stress Analysis
Subterranean Robotics
Wi-Fi-Enabled Underground Zones
Autonomy & Navigation Testing
Smart Farming Tools
Remote Sensing
Ag Robotics & Autonomy
25,000 Sq Ft Shop/Event Space
12,000 MAES Acres for Scalability
Scheduled Blast Testing
Autonomy & Navigation Testing
3,000 Feet of Tunnels
Testbed Locations
Headwaters Tech Hub unites research institutions, startups, and industry to accelerate smart photonic sensing systems. Our testbeds provide rugged, real-world environments to develop, validate, and scale technologies in defense, wildfire and disaster resilience, environmental monitoring, and precision agriculture.
Each HTH testbed site offers unique terrain, technical infrastructure, and regulatory flexibility for rapid innovation-from underground tunnels to high-elevation forests and open farm and ranch land. Together, these sites form a powerful ecosystem for testing and deploying next generation sensing technologies.
Underground Mine Education Center (UMEC)
Where earth meets tech, UMEC is a rare, near real-world mine setting offering direct access to hard-to-find conditions perfect for robotics and sensor testing.
Lutz Farm & Red Bluff Ranch
Lutz Farm and Red Bluff Ranch's variability and networked expansion make them ideal for long-term ag-tech trials and climate zone replication across Montana.
Grand Farm Innovation Campus
With unmatched visibility, custom farm management, and access to a global innovation network, Grand Farm turns research into adoption-fast.
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