Number of Civil Drones to Eclipse Military Ones?

Energy companies have been testing small, unmanned aircraft as potential pipeline and drilling rig monitors. The Interior Department has more than 40 unmanned aerial systems that it uses to monitor wildlife and fires. And NASA scientists have sent retired Air Force drones to collect atmospheric data on high-altitude, cross-ocean missions that would be too long and dangerous for human pilots. In many cases, the systems are safer and cheaper than manned aircraft. In others, they are able to do things that were simply impossible before. “The phrase that the military uses is that UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] are for the ‘dull, dirty and dangerous’ jobs,” said Gretchen West, executive vice president of the industry group Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. “Ultimately, we see the civil market being larger even than the defense market.” But civilian use of drones has been tempered so far by provisional Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules that allow only civil entities like government agencies or universities to fly small systems within line of sight—and only with specific approval. Broader use could pose major safety problems, and FAA has grappled for years with how to allow more flights while protecting other aircraft and people on the ground. Now, the agency is preparing a proposed rule to release this spring on small unmanned systems, which many observers say is a first step toward transitioning the powerful technology to civilian use. The energy industry and other groups also are relying on drones to keep an eye on wildlife. In an early energy industry-drone experiment in 2008, Walker teamed up with Shell to test whether unmanned aerial systems could help monitor wildlife in offshore areas where the company planned to work. Part of Shell’s permit requires the company to halt its seismic surveys if whales or other protected wildlife are nearby, and Shell wanted to figure out the best way to watch for the animals.  Federal agencies are also discovering the benefits of using the systems to monitor wildlife. In 2009, scientists with NOAA used unmanned systems to survey ice seals in areas of the Bering Sea that are difficult to reach with piloted planes. There, the drones’ stealth proved to be a plus. Some flights were so quiet they brought back pictures of seals at rest, said Robyn Angliss, deputy director of NOAA’s National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle. That lets scientists take better counts and leaves sensitive species undisturbed. “We’re just at the beginning,” said Michael Hutt, who oversees the Interior Department’s drones at the U.S. Geological Survey. “It feels a lot like when we were just introducing GPS, and then all of a sudden, GPS became commonplace. Once this technology gets out there, it’s going to just explode.”...more

You see the Interior Dept. already has 40 drones.  How many does the EPA, Forest Service, Corps of Engineers, etc. have?  The FAA is issuing certificates for federal agencies to use drones, on both a short-term and long-term basis.

European government agencies are already spying on farms.  This report from BBC news says:

Imagine a perfect walk in the country, a few years from now - tranquillity, clean air, birdsong in the trees and hedgerows, growing crops swaying in the breeze. Suddenly a model plane swoops overhead. But there is no-one around manipulating radio controls. This is not a toy, but a drone on a photographic mission. Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometres up in space, the same patch of land is being photographed by a satellite, which clearly pinpoints individual trees and animals. What is there to spy on here? No secret military installations, just farmland. But Europe's farms cost taxpayers billions of euros in subsidies each year, and EU agricultural inspectors are turning to technology to improve their patchy record on preventing fraud and waste.

Congress should issue a report on each domestic agency that has drones or contracts for the use of drones, showing the number of drones and the purposes for which they are being used.  Congress should also require an annual report from each agency on their use of drones.  As Mr. Hutt from Interior says the use of drones is "going to explode" and haphazard funding without accountability won't cut it.