As hundreds of companies showcase their unmanned credentials at AUVSI in Atlanta, the US Federal Aviation Administration used the event to announce that three firms will be allowed to test UAVs in real-world missions.
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta revealed that the three companies – BNSF Railway, CNN and UAV manufacturer PrecisionHawk – had joined the Pathfinder programme, an operational concept validation ostensibly to help integrate commercial UAVs into national airspace.
The programme will allow CNN to operate news-gathering UAVs in urban areas, and BNSF Railway and PrecisionHawk to exam extended line-of-sight operations – although many of the practical details