no one is pushing the FAA to do something that would diminish, in any way, safety in our Nation's airspace--that's not the point.

The airspace is somewhat of a national treasure, as being part of the FAA, our job is to be stewards of that.

This really is an excellent location for perfecting and developing the rules and procedures necessary to allow unmanned aircraft to operate routinely in the national air space beside manned aircraft.

are we moving along to accomplish what needs to be done by the time it needs to be done?

I am grateful for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss an issue of true National Security.

I must first express my personal thanks and that of both my Air Force Secretary Donnelly and Chief Schwartz, to you and your staffs for your unwavering support of the basing of Global Hawk and Predator in North Dakota.

And integrating it into airspace control?

we need to solve this, and it's going to require, I think, some real focus to do so

I don't have a good, regulatory mechanism to confiscate or segregate airspace just by kind of imminent domain.

This is a formal hearing of the Commerce Committee of the U.S. Senate.

Grand Forks and this region of North Dakota is slated to become a major UAV center.

So, what the 119th is saying is that this box of 35 by 45 miles is what is, what they believe is necessary for training, is that correct?

I would not have had a hearing had I felt that we were on track

Tell us, if you would, what, specifically do you need at this point?

But, the one thing that seems to me to stand out with respect to the FAA is that generally it's very, very hard to meet time deadlines.

I think I understand the answer to that question, but why don't you describe how that can be accomplished in a way that does not, in any way, diminish safety?

So, let me interpret what you--are you worried that we may not meet that test?

The University of North Dakota Center for Aerospace Science is designated by law and in the DOD descriptions as the center for UAV research.