Senator Max Baucus is looking to manufacture commercial unmanned Drones in Montana that could be used to kill Wolves, Coyotes, Grizzlies, Black Bears, Cougars and Bobcats..............It is so true that so many military inventions find their way into civilian life,,,,,,,,some for the better and some for the worse.............Sen. Baucus is pushing to unleash certain death on Carnivores through the utilization of these unmanned planes............Anyone besides me believe that there should be term limits for Senators , Cogressmen and Supreme Court Justices,,,,,,,,,,,,same as there is for the President?????????Jeez Louise, I sure am..........The Max Baucus' of the world need to be recycled out of D.C. every 8 years!!!!

First drone made in Montana tested south of Columbia Falls

Karl Puckett

Whitefish-based Center for Remote Integration gave the first test flight of a Montana-made drone south of Columbia Falls on Tuesday. State Sen. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls, wants the aircraft mass produced in Great Falls. He said a decision should be made by the end of the year.
The first test flight of a Montana-made drone designed for commercial uses was conducted at an airfield south of Columbia Falls on Tuesday. "It was flawless," said Ed Buttrey of Great Falls, a coordinator with Whitefish-based Center for Remote Integration.

During the test flight, the 8-foot-long aircraft with a 15-foot wing span was alternately operated by two pilots — one using remote controls and the other working on the Internet, Buttrey said. The aircraft, which can be powered by either battery or jet engine and carry 20 to 40 pounds, recently received an experimental airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration and can be flown via the Internet.

Unmanned Systems Inc. of Las Vegas built the drone, which is called Sandstorm, in Kalispell.
USI trains pilots of military unmanned aircraft. Now it's developing its own airframe, for commercial uses, and the Center for Remote Integration, led by Buttrey and fellow Montana senator Ryan Zinke, is assisting with manufacturing and marketing.

Zinke and Buttrey said the flight was a milestone in the not-for-profit's year-old effort to develop an unmanned drone industry with commercial applications in Montana. "Montana is well-positioned to be the hub for testing and development of these platforms," said Zinke, noting the state's wide-open skies and diverse terrain.

About 45 people were on hand to witness the flight, including officials with local industry, political leaders and a representative with the FAA, Buttrey said.

U.S. Sen. Max Baucus was not at the demonstration but said in a statement that he pushed for an amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill that would require the FAA to establish six unmanned aircraft testing sites across the country. He said he's still working on getting the bill passed into law.

"Our troops rely on this type of technology every day and there is enormous future potential in border security, agriculture, and wildlife and predator management," Baucus said.


Bigger drones have gained world-wide attention for surveillance and military targeting operations overseas, but the aircraft also have civilian applications in farming, wildlife management and fighting wildfires, Zinke said.

"They can go over a forest fire," Zinke said. "They can identify every hotspot. They can identify everybody by name who works on a fire. All that information is infused together and downloaded."

The aircraft have such advanced sensing equipment they could monitor insect infestations, allowing for surgical applications of insecticides later by regular aircraft, Zinke said.

The aircraft even can tell the difference between a wolf and coyote, he said. "If you want to stop guessing how many wolves are out there, this is a low-cost way to do it," Zinke said.