But even the report's own author, Darryl Jenkins, a 30-year veteran of the aerospace industry, admits the UAS industry remains so nascent that the data necessary to make comprehensive projections simply doesn't yet exist.

Indeed, uncertainties abound in the UAS space. Under a Congressional mandate handed down last year, the Federal Aviation Administration is required to integrate small UAS for civilian and commercial applications into the national airspace by end of Q3 2015, essentially opening up American skies to swarms of unmanned systems. (The FAA has projected that 30,000 UAS will be flying by 2020.) But there's no guarantee the FAA will meet that deadline, or what additional restrictions might be placed upon civilian and commercial UAS when they are finally integrated into civilian skies.

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