Aircraft that fly without a pilot on board have been called a variety of names-some of them unprintable. Drones, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are a few. Some pilots are concerned about bringing these machines into domestic airspace in a big way. The FAA is charged with figuring out how to get everyone to play in the sandbox safely. Military UAS has been a dominant player in the past decade, performing surveillance and strike operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. There have been a few military incidents, but not many that have been reported to the general press. As the capabilities have expanded, however, so has the civilian demand for what UAS can do-often at a fraction of the cost of manned aircraft.
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