The FAA on Thursday released a five-year roadmap for regulated unmanned aircraft which indicates that during the next few years the use of drones will be limited to permits granted by the FAA to operators who have demonstrated procedures to reduce safety risks.
Congress has directed the FAA to integrate UAVs into U.S. skies by September 2015 but the agency has already missed several milestones toward meeting that goal. Integration will begin at six test sites that the FAA has yet to select, from applications from 24 states. Meanwhile, until testing is complete, the FAA will only grant UAS flying privileges on a case-by-case basis.
