In Defense Of Drones

Unmanned aircraft could be zipping around Northwest skies in a few short years, surveying farm and timber lands, monitoring power lines and searching for people lost in the wilderness. Pioneered by the U.S. military, drones appear on their way to widespread civilian use, and Idaho and Washington are eager to tap into the jobs that follow. Both states have applied to land FAA test sites for developing commercial uses of unmanned aircraft systems. Bradley Ward, pictured, a retired Air Force pilot in Spokane, has been in the driver’s seat of this technology and sees big benefits for the Inland Northwest. Ward piloted Predator drones in the Middle East from a base in Nevada, helped manage unmanned aircraft programs at the Pentagon and commanded a Global Hawk reconnaissance squadron in California. “The advantages that unmanned aircraft have over manned aircraft tend to be endurance,” he said/ Scott Maben , SR. More here. (SR photo: Colin Mulvany)

Question: Do you support an expanded drone program in the United States?