Bill Would Make Federal Collaboration Mandatory On UAVs

Three key federal agencies would have to collaborate on the integration and development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles if the next defense bill becomes law, according to a local congressman.

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, added an amendment to the defense bill that, if passed, means the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration and NASA would work together on technical challenges to integrate unmanned air systems into the nation's manned air travel system.

"This is a growing and exploding industry area to the extent that we can get in on the ground floor, this is something that can grow significantly in our community," Turner said in an interview with the Dayton Daily News.

The House Armed Services Committee passed the amendment early Thursday as part of the proposed fiscal year 2013 defense bill, according to Turner's office.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, home to the Aeronautical Systems Center and the Air Force Research Laboratory, is a key link in the research, testing and acquisition of UAVs as the region's UAV support and industrial base is growing.

The latest congressional amendment arrives as the FAA is expected to select six sites across the nation to test UAV systems in the nation's manned air system, which could happen by the end of the year. The Miami Valley has touted Wright-Patterson, Springfield Air National Guard Base and the Wilmington Air Park as ideal sites in Southwest Ohio.

"Another issue for us locally is to the extent that we can require the Air Force to be involved, the greater likelihood we have that our area will be chosen as a UAV test site," Turner said.

Michael Gessel, a vice president of the Dayton Development Coalition's Washington, D.C., office said the research-oriented amendment doesn't favor any one region of the country, but Wright-Patterson's AFRL and a growing Dayton UAV-related industry have the potential for "enormous opportunity" to benefit.

"We think this amendment will provide significant long-term opportunity for UAS work in the Dayton region, but it will happen incrementally," he said.

Within 15 years, the work of bringing UAVs into an integrated air system domestically could create 23,000 jobs nationwide, he said.

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