Oklahoma Seeks Status As U.S. Leader In Unmanned Aircraft
Oklahoma Army National Guard soldiers prepare a Textron AAI Corporation RQ-7B Shadow for launch from a pneumatic catapult at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Army National Guard soldiers prepare a Textron AAI Corporation RQ-7B Shadow for launch from a pneumatic catapult at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

The state of Oklahoma believes that it has the resources to be among the leading U.S. states in commercializing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). But this spring, the state’s political leaders were disappointed by the findings of a UAS economic impact study that ranked California, Washington, Texas, Florida and Arizona as the top five states expected to see the most in terms of immediate job growth and revenue when UAS are integrated into the National Airspace System. In fact, Oklahoma ranked 30th out of the 50 states.