1) What is the current status of this sector of the industry?
UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicles) are becoming more and more popular with the growth of today's technology. UAVs are primarily used for military operations, but is also used for surveillance and scientific research. The reason UAVs are becoming more and more popular in the military and for civilian use, is it takes the pilot out of the aircraft which is the safest method for bombings, surveillance etc. According to UAV there are 12 different types of UAVs such as Global Hawk, X47-A, Mariner, Predator along with others. The technology on these modern UAVs are incredible. The Predator for example can fly over 220kts at 50,000ft for over 30 hours. That's much loner than any commercial airliner/ military jet. UAVs are in the beginning stages of what can and will be a long and lasting career.
2) What are the issues in these sectors that must be evaluated while moving towards the future?
Since UAV's are just in the early stages, there are many issues that must be evaluated moving towards the future. According to BML he points out scenarios that could cause major issues such as, since there is no pilot in the cockpit what happens if the UAV losses communications, or a loss of engine or power you don't have a pilot in the cockpit to control it. Another issue especially in crowded areas is what about a mid air collision with a airliner, although the UAV has no pilot in the cockpit the airliner is full of people and some of those UAVs are as big if not bigger than a Cessna.
3) What is the 5-10 year outlook for this sector?
The 5-10 year outlook for the UAV is very promising. With the increase in technology, our military is putting alot of time and money into UAVs. A UAV guest speaker came and talked at a conference last year at EMU and said that the current state of UAVs is equivalent to just after the Wright Brothers for airplanes, which is pretty crazy to think about. If they already have UAVs flying at 50,000ft at almost 500mph, whats UAVs goin to look like in the next 10 years.
4) What is/will the government's involvement be in this sector?
The governments involvement in UAV is very significant, it is already implemented in all military use from hand thrown UAVs to Predators the government is very involved. According to the FAA the reason the military wants UAV or UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) is because " In today’s military, unmanned systems are highly desired by combatant commanders for their versatility and persistence. By performing tasks such as surveillance; signals intelligence (SIGINT); precision target designation; mine detection; and chemical,
biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) reconnaissance, unmanned systems have made key contributions to the Global War on Terror." The government and military want to reduce the risk of our soldiers by taking the pilot out of the cockpit.
5) What are possible career opportunities in this sector (be specific, which may require you to find actual job descriptions)?
Since UAVs are becoming more and more popular in the military and civilian use, career opportunities are becoming more and more popular. According to the ARMY some job duties for flying UAVs are "Conduct air reconnaissance, surveillance, targeting and acquisition missions", Planning and analyzing flight missions and Launch and recover air frame from runway. Jobs in UAVs are endless, if you don't want to fly the UAV there are repair UAV repairers just like mechanics for airplanes. Each UAV employer has different requirements. According to Simply Hired the average salary in California for UAV pilots is $89,000, but will also vary on the company, location and experience. With UAVs becoming more and more popular the demand for UAV pilots is only going to increase with technology.
As you mentioned, the government’s involvement in UAV operations is very significant. The government is probably directly responsible for the initial development and use of UAV's, and subsequently the eventual transition towards commercializing the UAV sector. UAV's are probably the wave of the future for military use. Save's lives, save's manpower, and probably saves money. Truth is, there's nothing scarier to a foreign enemy than the idea that UAV's could potentially be flying anywhere at any time, incognito, with an onboard armament, with the ability to strike at anytime at no predictability. Fortunately, this gives an edge to the American military.
ReplyDeleteAs I put in my blog, I find an issue that will be key in the certification of UAVs to fly with more freely in our airspace will be the coordination between the FCC and the FAA. The FCC regulates the radio waves, and will need to ensure that there is plenty of bandwidth for UAVs to operate by use of two-way communication. The FAA will need to ensure that the radio equipment being used is of high quality.
ReplyDeleteYou are right to say that the government's role in UAV use is significant. Granted, there could be some civil uses, they currently are outweighed by government uses. Since the Department of Homeland Security and NASA (you've already mentioned military) have been big drivers in their early development, I see them expanding their role.
The only way I see a rapid expansion of civil applications of these aircraft is with a loosening of airspace restrictions and more approved airframes.
I was not aware the longevity of flight possible with UAV's. I have not formed a personal opinion about UAVs as a whole but do feel there use is adequate for certain activities and not all. They are the technology of the future as you article made clear and its definitely interesting to see their capabilities but I agree with the issue on certification and communication issues. You make some great points.
ReplyDeleteYou made good points about the FAA's concern about having unmanned aircraft flying in the country's airspace, particularly with regards to what will happen if the UAV loses signal, which doesn't seem to be too rare of an occurrance. Although there is a camera on board, the operator will not have the ability to spot traffic like their own eyes could, so collision is a big concern, as you stated.
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