© Ron Reiring

North Dakota is known as a leading state in the drone industry. With several research and testing programs, it is the Silicon Valley of drone innovations. The factors that have helped place North Dakota on the drone map are: the weather, drone friendly policies, empty spaces and its University.  North Dakota’s drone industry is expected to grow from 11.3 billion dollars in 2015 to 140 million dollars in 2025. These figures were reported by the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. They estimate that the growth of drones will have a massive economic impact of up to $82 billion in the United States over the next 10 years. Goldman Sachs also predicts that the drone industry will be worth $100 billion in the next two years.

One of the main reasons North Dakota is a prime real estate for the drone industry is that the state is spacious with only 750,000 people according to census figures. It is the fourth least populous state in America and the fourth most sparsely populated area in the country.  These factors make it a perfect location for drone research and testing.

John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota began offering a bachelor degree in aeronautics with a major in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in 2009.  This is the first American school to prepare graduates to operate drones.  Students can also solve and analyze aeronautics problems, and at the end, they’ll earn a commercial pilot certificate alongside their degree.

The state of North Dakota has invested over 38.1 million dollars since 2005 in the development of drones according to the North Dakota Department of Commerce. So it is apparent that the state understands that drones will greatly benefit all its major industries.  For example with agriculture, farmers used to depend on satellite imagery, but now with the widespread adoption of drones, imaging can be done with unmanned drones. This is more cost effective and efficient as well as more detailed so a lot of farmers will benefit from the increase in drone technology.