UAVs

There are many ways that UAVs, or drones, can be used for civilian purposes. Agriculture is one of the ways drones have been put to use. The drones can treat land faster, and monitor the crops closer at a cheaper cost than small planes can. They can even detect areas where nitrogen levels are low and monitor specific sections of the field.  Weather forecasting and storm tracking is another use for UAVs. They are able to get closer to the storms to gather information that would be to dangerous for manned aircraft.  Another use is to monitor wildlife populations or map roads and wetlands for land management purposes, and chart land use changes like deforestation, which can threaten many wildlife species. Drones have thermal sensors which make them a good option for search and rescue. They can cover more ground and rough terrain than other vehicles are able to. Finally they are able to create 3-D mapping which is good for mapping terrain and also used for mines where they can be used to inspect site conditions and pit walls.

The restrictions that are currently placed on UAVs make it hard for them to be put to use for any of the beneficial ways that were talked about in the previous paragraph. Currently a certificate of authorization will only be issued to federal, state and local government agencies and restrict flying to specified areas. They may only be used during daytime VFR conditions and must stay below 400 feet AGL. They are also limited to line of site and cannot be used within five miles of an airport. These restrictions greatly limit the potential of drones and all the good they can be used for.

I do foresee UAVs being integrated into NAS. The FAA, and this country in general, has always been somewhat reluctant to accept new technologies, but will eventually come along. The FAA is already looking into how to integrate UAVs into commercial use in the next five to ten years. The FAA is planning to select six test sites to begin integrating drones into the airspace. Some problems would be the logistics of working with ATC and traffic in the air. With NEXGEN also coming around at the same time they will now have two new systems to try to integrate at once which may be an issue. Perception can also cause issues because some people may be concerned about privacy and think that drones may just be another way for the government to spy on you. Also if drones start to be used for things such as surveying or pipeline patrol it could potentially eliminate some of the pilot jobs.

The military has been using drones for a while and it has proven to be effective although they will never completely take the place of manned aircraft. The major benefit of drones it that they can be piloted in remote locations from right here in the U.S. This allows for more troops to be home rather than overseas. They can be used for surveillance and resonance effectively and even drop bombs on targets, which has changed tactics slightly but not in as big of a way as most people might think. The cost of drones is slightly cheaper than manned aircraft but I don't believe it's enough to influence decisions in a big way. Some may question if the use of drones is ethical, but is anything in war really ethical? This is an entire other subject but for now I will just say yes. It is hard for the average civilian to understand but anything that has the potential to keep your troops safe is a positive.

Although currently most of the UAV jobs are military there are still civilian jobs available. The future is looking positive for UAVs and once they are integrated into commercial use, the job market for UAV pilots and management will be wide open.

https://www.sensorsandsystems.com/dialog/perspectives/30861-what-are-the-top-ten-civilian-uses-of-drones-that-don%E2%80%99t-impin
http://jobs.uavjobbank.com/a/jobs/list/