Unmanned aircraft expected to soar beyond military applications

Slim Smith/Dispatch Staff

STARKVILLE — With two Columbus companies heavily involved in what Dr. Jon Waldrop calls an industry in its infancy, Columbus is establishing a reputation in the market of unmanned aircraft.

“I see a real opportunity here to develop what I call a center of excellence in this field,” said Waldrop, senior vice president of development at Stark Aerospace in Columbus.

“We aren’t among the biggest companies in this field,” agreed Gregory Stewart, development director for Aurora Flight Sciences Corp., also based in Columbus. “But this is a field that has enormous growth potential and we’re in on the ground floor of that.”

Waldrop and Stewart were at Mississippi State University’s Raspet Flight Research Laboratory in Starkville on Monday, during a reception to kick off the three-day Unmanned Aerial Systems Symposium.

The symposium will host experts in the unmanned aircraft field from throughout the country.

Although the military’s drone aircraft has drawn the most attention, companies such as Aurora and Stark are developing unmanned systems and components that range from units not much bigger than a brief case to aircraft with 132-foot wingspans that can be manned or unmanned.

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