The Trump administration is touting its efforts to have multiple agencies and authorities address the use of drones and the threats posed by unmanned systems, given that they touch on many areas of government, from the military to agricultural policy and emergency services.Drones are increasingly valued for military operations. But companies and organizations are also exploring their use for applications such as delivering packages, getting early information during natural disasters and other emergencies, and improving agriculture through crop spraying, field mapping, and seeding.In an effort to illustrate how ubiquitous drone usage will become, Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council Sebastian Gorka said at an event on drone technology Thursday that one drone company executive told him that, not too far in the future, a family will be able to “press a button on your phone” and have ranch dressing delivered via drone within five minutes.
“That’s The Jetsons that’s coming to life,” he told more than a dozen drone companies who met with administration leaders at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Tuesday morning. “That is the future, and it will be built here in America. Not only for Americans, but we must dominate the world market.”The relatively low cost of drones makes it more feasible for smaller companies to enter manufacturing. The timeline for evolution and development is also shorter than has been the norm for the Pentagon to acquire new systems and equipment, which benefits the smaller companies that have traditionally been involved in defense procurement.Funding mechanisms are also available for companies from the Department of War and the Small Business Administration. The Pentagon has also removed some of the red tape involved in contracting and the overall department’s bureaucracies to further help these companies scale their capabilities to meet demand.“Now we’re here because of President Trump’s commitment and his speed to advancing our national security is really historic, and the SBA is here because it’s the agile small businesses who are on the front lines of America’s condensed industrial base,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said.Last month, the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital announced it had agreed to a conditional loan commitment of up to $820 million to Performance Drone Works to establish a high-volume domestic manufacturing capacity for critical drone components.“We must dominate the world drone market,” Gorka said. “We have no other option because the future of aviation is unmanned. There are some companies, big legacy companies, who don’t get it. Well, they will die, like the dinosaurs.”Police officers survey the scene via a drone at a Wells Fargo Bank, Friday, July 7, 2017 in Marietta, Ga.(AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
