Pentagon, FAA to open U.S. airspace to combat drones from Iraq/Afghanistan
Yes, the military drones are coming home. The Pentagon is working with the FAA to open US airspace to adapt war drones for domestic use.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-military-drones-20120214,0,5726973.story
Pentagon working with FAA to open U.S. airspace to combat drones
By W.J. Hennigan, Los Angeles Times
February 13, 2012, 9:57 p.m.
With a growing fleet of combat drones in its arsenal, the Pentagon is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to open U.S. airspace to its robotic aircraft.
As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down, the military says the drones that it has spent the last decade accruing need to return to the United States. When the nation first went to war after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the military had around 50 drones. Now it owns nearly 7,500.
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"The stuff from Afghanistan is going to come back," Steve Pennington, the Air Force's director of ranges, bases and airspace, said at the conference. The Department of Defense "doesn't want a segregated environment. We want a fully integrated environment."
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That means the Pentagon wants the same rules for drones as any other military aircraft in the U.S. today.
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The vast majority of the military's drones are small — similar to hobby aircraft. The FAA is working on proposed rules for integrating these drones, which are being eyed by law enforcement and private business to provide aerial surveillance. The FAA expects to release the proposal on small drones this spring.
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