Day of the Drones
Frank Hufstedler
Federal Government 2305-314

In February 2012, President Obama signed into law the FAA Modernization and Reform Act. This act required that the FAA safely incorporate civil UAV’s into the national airspace. (Blue Sky Days) The act further went onto lay out a five-year roadmap for implementation and safety measures. (United States Government Publishing Office, 2012) Drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV’s), are a reality for our present day and even our future. The impact of publicly/privately used drones on the general population can easily be good, bad or any combination in between. There’s a downside to everything. It’s been said that growth is good, but it takes money and manpower to make sure that growth remains good for everyone. With the potential of convenient and exciting new technology comes a varied number of setbacks if the ideas are not vetted properly. New software for drones may incidentally contain “bugs” which may cause delay in commercial sales or even an incident of “raining drones.” More than 400 large U.S. military drones have crashed in major accidents around the world since 2001. (thecrosspollinator, 2014) There is also the potential aggravation and a heightened sense of insecurity or privacy issues which would understandably be a cause for concern, Harry Geiger, a policy attorney with the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, D.C., told Discovery News, “You can’t avoid it if you’re outside unless you take cover. People don’t want to be on Youtube whenever they go outside.” (Klotz, 2012) Certain regulations will be necessary early on. We must find a way to avoid the pitfalls of this amazing technology and its varied uses before widespread production can be accomplished. Our ever-growing governmental bureaucratic system is a problem in itself with their ever-increasing budget and federal deficit. It is necessary, however, to rely on the different federal agencies to test the technology and produce a set of guidelines to protect the people and their investment. Advanced technology normally begins with a militaristic use, however, it eventually becomes throttled down for commercial use and later produced for wide spread use by the consumer. Cooperation is necessary between the FAA, Congress, and the people for this type of technology to be effectively utilized in a civilized and productive manner. If we are to lay out a five year roadmap for implementation and safety measures then the funding necessary for that roadmap must be provided for manpower to implement research and testing to see the full benefits of the UAV’s If drones could successfully fly over our great nation the list of benefits would be unfathomable. UAV’s could be used in low budget, civil and governmental situations. Farmers and ranchers could take advantage of the technology to help monitor their property. Medical offices could call for x-rays and blood samples to be picked up and quickly transported across the city. Case studies could be done for meteorologist students in college by collecting data to better prepare the next generation. They could take on the job of storm chasers. UAV’s could also be used to track the geographical population or mapping of the earth. Law enforcement and surveillance is also a good possibility instead of high-speed chases in which deaths occur. Children’s playgrounds and schoolyards could be protected from potential kidnappers or child abductors. It would also be easier to defend our borders by allowing versatile and quick detection. Netting could be designed and deployed to safely and effectively capture and detain illegal aliens trying to cross the border. We must not forget the great advantages of being able to use this new method of surveillance in tracking and apprehending any and all terrorists that are bent on hurting the people of the United States of America. There are a varied number of commercial uses that could utilize