Did you know?

In September 2009, the United States Air Force graduated its first pilot training class that did not receive flight training.  And, just a year earlier, the Israel Space Agency predicted that the numbers of unmanned aircraft in the Israel Air Force will outnumber manned aircraft in 20 years.

It is hard to think of statistics and statements that could more convincingly show that unmanned aerial vehicles and drones are here for the foreseeable future.

Speaking of Israel, its drone industry makes a huge contribution to its economy:

The moral of the story is not necessarily that the United States should be exporting drones or unmanned aerial vehicle technology.  But, commercial opportunities will be lost in America if laws and social attitudes continue to view drones in a sinister way.

Just ask San Diego.  San Diego?  Yep, the city is characterizing itself as the hub of the U.S. drone industry.  A recent article features this fact, quoting a member of the area chamber of commerce: “It’s critical we keep the industry here in San Diego … It represents a huge workforce, a well-paid workforce, and it means dollars to local communities and small businesses, increased tax revenues, and more. A lot of people I’ve talked to about UAVs say, ‘They’re scary. We don’t want them here.’ There are a lot of NIMBYs [‘not in my backyard’] here. But when they learn more about UAVs, and they realize the financial impact they have on this community, they change their opinion. A lot of this resistance is just fear of the unknown.”