Public institutions in six states have been selected to test commercial drones as part of a Federal Aviation Administration plan to integrate thousands of commercial drones into U.S. airspace, the Administration announced Monday.
These testing sites will be run by publicly funded entities, including: University of Alaska, State of Nevada, New York’s Griffiss International Airport, North Dakota Department of Commerce, Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech).
The FAA has already permitted approximately 300 “public organizations” to fly drones, said FAA spokesperson Alison Duquette in an interview with Common Dreams. This includes drones used by law enforcement and Customs and Border Enforcement for the purpose of aerial surveillance.
Duquette said she would not disclose the numbers of drones in U.S. airspace armed with military grade weapons or spying capabilities.
So far, gas drilling giant ConocoPhillips is the only commercial entity granted a drone-flying permit by the FAA, said Duquette. Yet the FAA is attempting to clear the path for thousands more through its UAS “Road Map”–developed at the behest of Congress.
In a speech last month, FAA administrator Michael Huerta said, “Our FAA forecast estimates that we can expect 7,500 small unmanned aircraft in our national airspace in the next five years.”
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Source: Common Dreams