UAV site contest shelved

The Federal Aviation Administration has indefinitely shelved competition to select six test sites to assess whether unmanned aerial vehicles can be integrated into manned airspace. The agency was to have named the six sites by next month, but missed a July deadline for requesting applications. Now the FAA says it needs to delay the competition because it needs to first address privacy concerns raised by the use of drone aircraft in the nation's airspace. The goal of the test sites is to determine whether UAVs can safely be operated alongside manned aircraft by 2015. (Source: Defense Communities, 11/26/12) Gulf Coast note: The region is involved in UAV activities.