TABLE OF CONTENTS What is the result of the history of unmanned aviation that has been described up to this point? This chapter and the following depart from the historical nature of the preceding chapters to describe the present state of UAVs to which this history has led and to forecast where it may lead in the future.
Today, there are an estimated 2400 UAVs military and civilian in use around the world. The overwhelming majority, 65% of them, are Japanese- produced, radio-controlled helicopters used for agricultural purposes. Japan has 1565 such UAVs and 6000 licensed operators for them, and they perform about one-third of the agricultural aviation in Japan, covering some 10% of their total rice acreage. Commercial sales of them amount to about $100 million annually. The Japanese UAV market began with a government- sponsored competition in 1986 to find a way to compensate for the dwindling population of rice farmers, an occupation in decline as the children of this traditional way of life opted instead for urban jobs. Robotic helicopters were selected, and the government subsidized their initial development. By one estimate, each robotic helicopter can do the work of 15 farm laborers.
When Mount Usu erupted on Hokkaido in 2000, the Japanese Ministry of Construction enlisted these UAVs to fly reconnaissance missions over the volcano's slopes to observe the advance of volcanic ash and mud threatening local villages. Manned aircraft were not allowed to fly these missions because of the danger posed by the volcano unexpectedly belching boulders...
