(Video) Rise of the drones.

Drones. These unmanned flying robots–some as large as jumbo jets, others as small as birds–do things straight out of science fiction. Much of what it takes to get these robotic airplanes to fly, sense, and kill has remained secret. But now, with rare access to drone engineers and those who fly them for the U.S. military, NOVA reveals the amazing technologies that make drones so powerful as we see how a remotely-piloted drone strike looks and feels from inside the command center. From cameras that can capture every detail of an entire city at a glance to swarming robots that can make decisions on their own to giant air frames that can stay aloft for days on end, drones are changing our relationship to war, surveillance, and each other. And it's just the beginning. Discover the cutting edge technologies that are propelling us toward a new chapter in aviation history as NOVA gets ready for "Rise of the Drones."

"Rally Point Management, LLC, is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business that supports technology development and provides comprehensive joint warfighter training by leveraging the skills, experience, and knowledge of its personnel.  Our team consists of personnel with diverse backgrounds including Special Operations Forces (SOF), Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs), Battlefield Airmen (BA), and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).  Rally Point Management’s expertise spans the areas of operations, test, acquisition, technology, training, and logistics support."
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/rise-of-the-drones.html?goback=.gde_1829117_member_210220313

Report for congress on domestic drone use highlights privacy concerns:

A new report from the Congressional Research Service -- "Integration of Drones into Domestic Airspace: Selected Legal Issues" -- states that "perhaps the most contentious issue concerning the introduction of drones into U.S. airspace is the threat that this technology will be used to spy on American citizens." Last year, EPIC warned Congress that "there are substantial legal and constitutional issues involved in the deployment of aerial drones by federal agencies." EPIC, joined by over 100 organizations, experts, and members of the public, has petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration to begin a rule making to establish privacy safeguards.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems-manufacturing trends:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R42938.pdf 

Reforming U.S. drone strike policies:
 http://www.cfr.org/wars-and-warfare/reforming-us-drone-strike-policies/p29736?co=C009601

U.S. colleges begin offering more drone piloting programs:

According to NBC News, Kansas State University, the University of North Dakota and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida all currently offer full degrees for drone piloting but many others, including community colleges, offer training programs.

“And those numbers figure are set to increase, with some aviation industry analysts predicting drones will eventually come to dominate the U.S. skies in terms of jobs,” reports NBC News.

Some 14 universities and colleges (along with police departments, of course) have permits from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly drones, some of which are aimed at training drone pilots while others are granted for “border security,” research and other applications.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University assistant professor Alex Mirot told NBC, “We make it clear from the beginning that we are civilian-focused.”

Mirot, a former Air Force pilot responsible for piloting Predator and Reaper drones in Afghanistan, Pakistan “and elsewhere” (as NBC puts it) for four years from Nevada, oversees the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Science program at Embry-Riddle.

“We want them to think about how to apply this military hardware to civilian applications,” Mirot said. I seriously doubt he thought about just how ominous that really sounds.

“As of now there aren’t rules on what an (unmanned aircraft) pilot qualification will be,” Mirot said. “You have to go to employer X and ask them, ‘What are you requiring?’ And that becomes the standard.”

While Embry-Riddle just recently graduated their first student with a bachelor’s degree in drone piloting, others have graduated with minors previously.

“I had a kid who deployed right away and he was making $140,000,” Mirot said. “That’s more than I ever made. Yeah, he’s going into Afghanistan, but he had no previous military experience or security clearance.”

Mirot said that many of his students ideally want to be airline pilots, some say they plan to begin with drone piloting simply to pay off their hefty loans since commercial airline salaries start as low as $17,000 for the first year.

After they pay off their loans, “then maybe [they will] apply for an airline job,” Mirot told NBC.

The University of North Dakota is another university offering a four-year degree in drone piloting. Indeed, it was the first school to do so all the way back in 2009, according to reporting by the Star Tribune in July of 2012 which was also picked up by the Atlantic.

No less than 50 U.S. universities have some kind of center, academic program or club for either drone engineering or flying with some of the programs working directly with the military.

For instance, Wright State University professor George Huang, who is behind a program building drones the size of hummingbirds, said that almost all of his 20 students also work as researchers for the Air Force.

“This means they’re earning between $60,000 and $80,000 a year while still enrolled, instead of the $15,000 stipend that graduate students typically receive from their schools,” according to NBC.

Others, like Texas A&M computer science student Brittany Duncan, are attempting to paint a more pretty picture of drones.

In a somewhat disturbing statement, Randal Franzen, a 2011 graduate from Kansas State University’s drone training program, said, “I had three offers yesterday to go back and do the same thing [surveillance] for three different companies. I talked to them about flying. I’d rather pilot something. I’d like to go play with something cooler.”
http://endthelie.com/2013/01/30/u-s-colleges-begin-offering-more-drone-piloting-programs-to-keep-up-with-domestic-drone-boom/#axzz2JYinQxbE