NASA MQ-9 Predator
Flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) around wartime battlefields has become common place for all branches of the American military, but flying them in the FAA controlled skies of the US, is another matter altogether.
In 2006, the FAA opened up the skies to the military and their drone aircraft, but only for special circumstances like disasters or terrorist attacks. During these times it is assumed that normal air traffic would be grounded, and the UAVs would have the air all to themselves.
The reasoning behind keeping UAVs and manned aircraft separate seems solid. UAVs are unmanned and therefore rely directly on the operator to control them from a distance of, perhaps hundreds to thousands of miles away. The eye for flying a drone is a small aperture on a video camera, unlike the eyes of a pilot with a huge open window before them. The FAA has mandated that UAV operators have a 360 degree view, which they are currently incapable of. Just that fact alone makes accident avoidance, especially if a UAV was flying in a high traffic area, in doubt.
Until the military comes up with a proven type of avoidance system on their drones, don’t expect to be seeing one overhead very soon.
