JACKSON, Miss. — The drones could be coming. Mississippi could be one of six sites across the nation to test unmanned aircraft. The state submitted its proposal Monday to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). State officials say the FAA should choose the Magnolia state since it already hosts three manufacturers of the aircraft as well as a flight laboratory at MSU.
Congress has proposed that the FAA should use the tests sites to determine how to integrate current air traffic with unmanned vehicles. Currently drones can only be flown with permission.
Currently 37 states said they would submit proposals for becoming a test site. The FAA has also made it clear that they will not finance the tests, but that should not be a problem for Mississippi since the state can use its existing assets such as the airspace at camp Shelby, Stennis Space Center and the Gulf of Mexico test rangers at not cost.
