EDITORIAL: Nevada drone testing

Speaking of emerging commerce, Nevada’s fledgling unmanned aerial vehicle industry took another important step forward last week when the Federal Aviation Administration approved a two-year certificate of authorization for drone testing and announced the first such flight would take place this summer.

Nevada is one of just six states permitted to host drone testing, and it’s the third to receive the certificate.

“Nevada’s FAA test sites are officially open for business,” said Steve Hill, director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

As reported by the Review-Journal’s Richard Velotta, the state’s first test will fly out of the Department of Energy’s Desert Rock Airport inside the Nevada National Security Site, what used to be known as the Nevada Test Site. The mission will have the drone fly at or above 3,000 feet to monitor a first-responder exercise.

State leaders expect the industry to have an economic impact worth billions of dollars and create 15,000 jobs within a decade. The industry has a lot of ground to cover to reach those numbers. Systems must be refined, UAVs must be able to reliably fly through sudden changes in weather, and higher-altitude drones must be able to safely function in airspace with other forms of commercial aviation.

Last week’s developments are great news, but they also create some urgency in Nevada. The fact that Nevada won the FAA testing designation also means the state one day could lose it. The FAA certificate is good for only two years. Nevada must keep pushing forward, especially with support from its higher education system, to ensure that the drone industry reaches its full potential — and that the state follows suit.