The Corpus Christi area will see more unmanned aircrafts taking flight due to university drone researchers’ recent grant of more airspace to test and fly their aircrafts.
Fox News Latino reports the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently approved a new range for the Lone Star Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, providing the researchers with around 290 flying days a year over mountains, high deserts, agriculture, coastal and maritime topographies, including the Gulf of Mexico and other virtually unpopulated regions.
The area meets the criteria for the FAA for being sparsely populated and it has a lot of different geographical features. Texas is among six states designated by the FAA to develop test sites for drones.
Unmanned aircraft testing is a critical step in the blossoming industry that could be worth billions of dollars and result in thousands of unmanned aircraft working in commercial and research applications. Texas is also one of the front lines for military and law enforcement drone use, as the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses drones to patrol the border between Texas and Mexico.