Virginia Unmanned Systems Commission established

Published June 12, 2015 by Robert Powell, III

Gov. Terry McAuliffe has signed an executive order establishing the Virginia Unmanned Systems Commission.

The commission’s intent is to bring public- and private-sector experts together to make recommendations on how to make the commonwealth a leader in unmanned systems.

The executive order, No. 43, notes that Virginia has the eighth largest concentration of unmanned system firms in the nation and that the commonwealth was picked as a test-site designation by the Federal Aviation Administration to develop unmanned aerial technologies, commonly called drones.

The commission will include the secretaries of technology, commerce and trade, education, veterans and defense affairs, two representatives from the Virginia congressional delegation, and 11 citizen members appointed by the governor.