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REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Effrain Lopez
The US military has invested heavily in drone technology over the past decade, but unmanned aircraft have plenty of uses beyond the battlefield.
2015-12-08
Once the FAA finalizes its regulations for unmanned aerial systems — more commonly referred to as drones — the industry has the potential to create more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs and bring an overall economic benefit of $82 billion.
Just how useful can drones be?
When you think of drones, you might visualize military versions flying over Iraq and Afghanistan watching and occasionally vaporizing terrorists.
An MQ-1B Predator, left, and an MQ-9 Reaper taxi to the runway in preparation for takeoff June 13, 2014, on Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The aircraft are assigned to the 432nd Wing, which trains pilots, sensor operators and other remotely piloted aircraft crewmembers, and conducts combat surveillance and attack operations worldwide.Airman 1st Class Christian Clausen/USAF
US military spending on drones is now 10 times larger than it was in 2000, and the trend is destined to continue.
But the commercial drone market is not too far behind.
An Aeronavics drone sits in a paddock near the town of Raglan, New ZealandReuters/Reuters Staff
Just like the military, companies are finding drone aircraft to be just as effective as regular aircraft. The big difference: drones are much easier to use and a lot cheaper.
K-State Salina/Vimeo
Currently, precision agriculture and public safety make up 90% of the civilian market for drones, according to a 2013 economic impact report.
Farmworkers pick strawberries at a farm in the town of San Quintin, Baja California March 25, 2015. REUTERS/Rafael Blancas
Plenty of farmers have embraced drones, which can fly over fields and report back on farm yields, track plant disease, and even chase off animals that damage their crops.
And there's a pretty obvious use case for drones in public safety. They can be outfitted with high-resolution cameras or thermal imaging for search and rescue ...
Massachusetts State Police
... At a fraction of the cost of a helicopter. So the next time you see a high-speed police pursuit on TV, it might be coming from an unmanned aircraft.
Many drones have been approved for photography and filming. They can produce stunning aerial shots like this one, taken in Croatia's Brijuni National Park.
And Maryland-based VinShadow Group asked for permission to fly drones over commercial real estate and construction sites, which makes overseeing building a lot easier.
The skies are going to be crowded, but drones will ultimately be beneficial to the economy — to the tune of billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs ...
... And surely there are interesting uses for drones that we haven't even imagined.
File photo of visitors served by an Infinium-Serve Unmanned Aerial Vehicle that is designed to serve food and wait tables, at the National Productivity Month exhibition in SingaporeThomson Reuters
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Paul Szoldra is the former Military & Defense Editor for Business Insider.Since leaving the Marine Corps as a sergeant in 2010, Paul has taken on various editorial roles at Business Insider and We Are The Mighty. He is a graduate of The University of Tampa.Paul is a cohost of After Action with Max & Paul. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of military news site Code Red News, and Duffel Blog, an online military satire publication that now boasts more than one million unique readers each month. Besides its beloved status within the military community, Duffel Blog has received high praise from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, former Pentagon spokesman George Little, The Onion's founding editor Scott Dikkers, and many others.He lives in San Clemente, California.
