|
On Jan 16th, Governor Mary Fallin announced that Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) activity will net Oklahoma 600 jobs and $57 million in just the next 3 years – and likely many more by 2025. According to a recent economic study by the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), Oklahoma is poised to see strong economic growth in this sector.
“Oklahoma is well-positioned to reap the economic benefits that will come along with the expanded use of UAS technology,” Michael Toscano, President of AUVSI said. “Oklahoma has the infrastructure in place to support the development of UAS technology, as well as several industries – such as agriculture and the oil and gas industry – that could one day benefit from the technology.”
In anticipation of UAV sector growth, Governor Fallin created the statewide Unmanned Aerial Systems Council in 2011. The Council has since produced a strategic roadmap to help make Oklahoma the “go-to” location for UAS research, development and testing, and eventually manufacturing and production. “Aerospace is one of the most important sectors of Oklahoma’s economy, supporting over 150,000 jobs and producing more than $12.5 billion in output each year,” Fallin said “Within that industry, unmanned aircraft systems represent the fastest growing part of the aerospace sector. For that reason, Oklahoma is committed to becoming the number one place for UAS operations, research, experimentation, design and testing in the country.”
Reasons Oklahoma is attracting UAS economic growth include:
- The UAS Oklahoma Test Center in Lawton has been flying UAVs and testing vehicles, sensors and systems since 2009.
- Oklahoma State University created the first UAS graduate program in the country in Jan 2012, designing and testing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
- The University of Oklahoma is nationally known for its National Weather Center, which conducts weather, sensor and radar research that are used by UAVs.
- Oklahoma already has over a dozen companies actively producing and testing UAVs and sensors.
- Oklahoma was selected in June 2012 as the national test site for the Dept of Homeland Security UAV test program, Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety (RAPS), that will test, then certify small UAVs for use by first responders across the nation. This program, which started flight testing in Dec 2012, will be investing $1.4 million in Oklahoma for the first year, and will last at least 3 years.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Oklahoma was selected for the national RAPS test site as a result of “the quality of UAS ideas and approaches in Oklahoma, the high level of experience and subject matter expertise concerning this technology, and the breadth of available resources in the state needed for the program.”
According to AUVSI, over 100,000 new jobs will be added in the UAS industry by 2025. The combination of Oklahoma’s strong aerospace industry and infrastructure, the availability of restricted airspace, the presence of companies already developing UAS technology, and the established research institutions strongly positions the state to capture additional jobs beyond 2017. Additionally, Oklahoma’s top industries – including agriculture and oil and gas – are expected to be among the biggest end-users of UAS technology. As these industries adopt and deploy UAS technology in the state, more jobs will follow.
|
