California airports compete for contract to test drones for civilian use

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Deputy Troy Sella from the new technology department of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) launches the SkySeer Unmanned Arial Vehicle (UAV) drone, 16 June 2006 at a demonstration flight in Redlands, California. The LASD plans to purchase SkySeer drones to carry out surveillance and rescue operations. It will be the first time UAVs, long used by the military in war zones, will be used by law enforcement.

Drones — those small remote controlled aircrafts — may soon fill the skies in some parts of California. That's because several airports in the state are competing for a federal contract to test out drones for civilian use. The untapped civilian market is estimated to be worth billions.

Here to tell us more is John Rose, Deputy Director of Public Policy at The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.