Air Guard unit authorized to fly MQ-9 Reaper drones in Syracuse region

SYRACUSE (AP) — The commander of the Air National Guard unit that operates remotely piloted drones from its central New York base held a news conference to discuss the expansion of the airspace in which it operates.

Col. Greg Semmel of the Air National Guard’s 174th Attack Wing spoke to the media Monday morning at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, to announce the Federal Aviation Administration has authorized the use of 20 nautical miles more of air space for training missions, including, for the first time, parts of Onondaga and Madison Counties, and more of Oswego Counties. Semmel says the added airspace means fewer missions will be scrubbed or delayed because of weather, especially in lake effect season, when some parts of the current training range in the Adirondacks and over Lake Ontario get shut down by snow.

China Set To Grab UAV Market While US Restricts Sales

PARIS: Psst. Hey mister. Wanna buy a UAV? China’s got drones for shooting, drones for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and drones for target practice. Cheap prices and no arms export restrictions.

And China may grab a significant share of the international market for just those reasons, according to a new report by the U.S-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Breaking Defense obtained a copy of the report: China’s Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Industry [sic]

The irony would be, of course, that the United States has largely created that demand by demonstrating the utility of drones (UAVs, Remotely Piloted Aircraft — RPAs — pick your term) in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq and other locales over the last decade.