A new report from the Columbia University Water Center, in conjunction with Veolia Water and Growing Blue, reveals that businesses and cities in America’s most iconic regions are now under greater risk of water scarcity. Utilizing a new research metric called the Normalized Deficit Cumulated (NDC) index in the America’s Water Risk: Water Stress and Climate Variability study, Columbia identifies top ten U.S. areas facing the highest climate-related risk of water shortages, including Washington, D.C and New York City. (PRNewsFoto/Growing Blue)

Posted by Heidi Schwartz

A new report from the Columbia University Water Center, in conjunction with Veolia Water and Growing Blue, reveals that businesses and cities in some of America’s most iconic regions are now under even greater risk of water scarcity.

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To date, four economic development organizations from four Great Lakes states have signed on to sponsor the ninth annual event, which will take place May 19 – 21, 2013 at the Westin Stonebriar in Dallas, Texas.

LiveXchange sponsors from the Great Lakes will include:

• Regional Growth Partnership (Northwest Ohio/Southeast Michigan)
• JobsOhio
• Harrison County Economic Development Corporation (Indiana)
• Seymour/Jackson County (Indiana)

Sponsors representing the U.S. South, Southwest, Plains, and New England/Mid-Atlantic will also be participating. A current list of all sponsors can be found by clicking here.

To learn more about LiveXchange, or to apply to attend, please click here.

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When the umpires shout “Play Ball!” for the first time this spring, much more than depressed winter spirits will be lifted. The coffers of communities that are home to major league ballparks also will fill up with fresh new greenbacks. More often than not, baseball and economic development go hand-in-hand, like hot dogs and beer.

A blog post on kypost.com this week offers a good example. It takes a close look at the ripple effect when baseball’s oldest franchise, the Cincinnati Reds, take the field at the Great American Ball Park.

The team is an economic boon for businesses in the city.  Downtown taverns enjoy a huge increase in business when the team plays at home and nearby hotels book dozens of extra rooms. There are more than 2,100 people employed at the ballpark and nearby Hamilton County-owned parking garages. During the Reds’ 2012 season, the team had attendance of more than 2.3 million people for its home games, with an estimated half of the fans coming from outside the Greater Cincinnati region. Local officials estimate the Reds’ overall economic impact at more than $200 million annually.

But Hamilton County, OH is still struggling to amortize the cost of building Paul Brown Stadium for the Bengals, GABP for the Reds and the adjacent riverfront garages. County commissioners have responded by cutting in half a property tax rollback that was part of the stadium sales tax authorization in 1996 and voting in favor of using casino tax revenues this year to help balance the fund.

County officials are quick to point out that the stadiums in Cincinnati also have drawn non-sports development projects to the thriving riverfront area since they opened.

There are a growing number of fiscal watchdogs who call these extrapolations foul not fair. With public financing of billion-dollar stadiums a major sore point in an age of fiscal austerity. the naysayers are getting louder. They say the return on this investment is never comes close to matching the cost of building these facilities.

The fiscal whistleblowers point to the public financing of the Miami Marlins $634-million stadium as Exhibit A of what can go wrong. The $91 million in bonds that were floated to build the Marlins dazzling (some say garish) art deco home–featuring one of the largest and fastest-moving automated roofs in the world–have been the subject of an SEC investigation, with financial analysts warning it may eventually cost Miami $2.4 billion to retire the debt from the project. Meanwhile, Marlin’s owner Jeffrey Loria shipped off most of the team’s stars in an offseason fire sale that is not likely to keep many seats filled at the new stadium.

Fortunately, the Miami debacle is an exception rather than the rule. It’s a close call, but we think as long as communities don’t overextend themselves in financing major sports facilities–in other words, make the team owners pay their fair share –a professional sports stadium or arena is a safe bet to pay off a healthy return on the investment.

There’s one big caveat: you better put a good team on the field. We’d say more, but it’s time to take our caps off, sing the National Anthem, grab a brew and Play Ball!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

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Rendering of FirstEnergy Transmission Control Center

By Ed Felton
From the January/February 2013 issue

Ohio has initiated an employer-driven program is designed to provide direct financial assistance to train workers and improve the economic competitiveness of the Buckeye State’s employers.

The voucher program is designed to offset a portion of the employer’s costs to upgrade the skills of its incumbent workforce and will provide reimbursement to eligible employers for specific training costs accrued during training. The program’s funding will be used in conjunction with private contribution to fund skill-upgrade training. Eligible employers must demonstrate that by receiving funding assistance through the Voucher Program that their business will not only obtain a skilled workforce but will improve their company processes and competitiveness.

The program is first come, first served. The caps on the program funding will be $500,000 per eligible company and/or $4,000 per eligible employee, with a reimbursement rate of up to 50%; all training must begin and be completed between February 4, 2013 and June 30, 2013.

Only one application per employer will be accepted per program year. If an employer has multiple sites, those sites must work together to submit the one application. The company’s NAICS code will determine eligibility as to the ten targeted industries.

FIRSTENERGY PLANS NEW TRANSMISSION CENTER

FirstEnergy Corp. has announced plans to construct a new state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly transmission control center in Akron, OH. The highly secure facility will be built at the company’s West Akron Complex, an existing 150-acre site that already houses an Ohio Edison service center, a FirstEnergy call center, and a large office building where several company subsidiaries are based.

While preliminary site preparation work is being done this fall, groundbreaking for the 70,000-square-foot facility is expected to occur in the spring of 2013, with planned completion of construction by the end of the year. The new “Akron Control Center,” as it will be known, is expected to cost approximately $45 million.

The new facility will replace the company’s existing Ohio Transmission Control Center located in Wadsworth, OH, which will be used as a back-up and training facility. Most of the 112 employees who currently work in Wadsworth will be transferred to Akron in stages as the new facility is completed.

FirstEnergy expects to submit this project to be considered for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. LEED is an internationally recognized third-party green building certification system that recognizes buildings that have met the highest possible green building standards and verifies a project’s level of environmental responsibility and ability to provide occupants with a healthy place to live and work.

The Akron Control Center is being designed by Akron, OH-based Braun & Steidl Architects. Fairlawn, Ohio-based Welty Building Company, which previously served as construction manager for FirstEnergy’s West Akron Campus, also will be construction manager for this project. In addition, GPD, of Akron, is providing electrical/mechanical engineering services and Thorson Baker & Associates, of Richfield, Ohio, is doing site development and structural engineering.

“The new Akron Control Center is designed to make our current high level of transmission service reliability even better,” said Charles E. Jones, Jr., senior vice president and president, FirstEnergy Utilities.

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While preliminary site preparation work is being done this fall, groundbreaking for the 70,000-square-foot facility is expected to occur in the spring of 2013, with planned completion of construction by the end of the year.  The new “Akron Control Center,” as it will be known, is expected to cost approximately $45 million.

The new facility will replace the company’s existing Ohio Transmission Control Center located in Wadsworth, OH, which will be used as a back-up and training facility.  Most of the 112 employees who currently work in Wadsworth will be transferred to Akron in stages as the new facility is completed.

FirstEnergy expects to submit this project to be considered for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.  LEED is an internationally recognized third-party green building certification system that recognizes buildings that have met the highest possible green building standards and verifies a project’s level of environmental responsibility and ability to provide occupants with a healthy place to live and work.

The Akron Control Center is being designed by Akron, OH-based Braun & Steidl Architects.  Fairlawn, Ohio-based Welty Building Company, which previously served as construction manager for FirstEnergy’s West Akron Campus, also will be construction manager for this project.  In addition, GPD, of Akron, is providing electrical/mechanical engineering services and Thorson Baker & Associates, of Richfield, Ohio, is doing site development and structural engineering.

“The new Akron Control Center is designed to make our current high level of transmission service reliability even better,” said Charles E. Jones, Jr., senior vice president and president, FirstEnergy Utilities.  ”In addition, we will utilize high-performance, environmentally friendly design, construction and operational options for this new building.”

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As part of the non-binding MOU, FirstEnergy would supervise construction of the four combustion turbine units that are capable of producing 873 megawatts (MW).  AMP will provide the construction financing and own 75 percent of the generation output upon completion, while FirstEnergy will fund and own the remaining 25 percent of the output in 2016.  Plans call for the facility to be operational in early 2016.

Plant construction is expected to begin in the latter half of 2014 and will take approximately 15-20 months to complete.  It is expected that up to 150 temporary construction jobs will be created for this project.

FirstEnergy’s Eastlake Plant was selected for the new combustion turbines due to its existing transmission system interconnections and the fact it is located in a region that could be impacted by the deactivation of older power plants.  Earlier this year, FirstEnergy announced that nine older, coal-fired power plants, including the Eastlake Plant, would be deactivated as a result of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) and other environmental regulations.

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Eric Phillips, Union County Economic Development Director (Photo credit: Erica Peerenboom Photography)

AutoTool, a designer and manufacturer of automation systems for the manufacturing industry, has announced plans to build an 80,000 square-foot manufacturing/processing facility in Union County, Ohio. AutoTool supplies tooling and automation products to nearby Honda of America Manufacturing, among others. The project represents a $5 million investment in land, facility, and equipment and will create 30 new full-time permanent jobs

The Union County commissioners, Jerome Township trustees, and Jonathan Alder School District board approved a 75%/10 year abatement for the AutoTool expansion. Additionally, JobsOhio offered a low interest loan and a 629 Roadway Assistance Grant.  Prior to approving the tax abatement, the County, Township, and School District had to approve the creation of an new enterprise zone.

“AutoTool was considering locating outside the State of Ohio due to its customer diversification throughout the nation. Many entities including Union County, Jerome Township, Jonathan Alder School District, Columbus 2020, and JobsOhio came together to retain and expand jobs and payroll and to secure property investment Union County,” said Eric Phillips, Union County Economic Development Director. “We appreciate all these entities working closely together to make this project a reality.”

Power will be provided by Union Rural Electric, a member of the Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives.

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Photo: Sanoh America, Inc.

Sanoh America, a parts supplier to Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Subaru, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Ford, and Hyundai, recently expanded its Mount Vernon, OH plant. The Energy Cooperative, a member of the Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, serves electricity to the plant.

“This new building is great,” said Randy Gore, plant manager, adding the heating and lighting system is more efficient than in the old building. With the plant being all one facility instead of three, operations are able to run more smoothly, he said.

During the company’s improvement process, Sanoh also invested $2 million in new machinery and equipment. The expanded plant is 212,000 square feet. Sanoh specializes in corrosion-resistant tubing, tubular brazed assemblies, plastic tubing assemblies, and stainless steel tubing assemblies.

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Built on the rubber and tire industry, Greater Akron is expanding its economic base to include investment in medical devices, polymers and liquid crystal applications.

By Tonya Porter
From the May/June 2012 issue

Northeast Ohio is a special place, with many opportunities for companies to grow and prosper, and many advantages for its residents to enjoy. More than 4.1 million people currently live in the region, at a cost of living that is up to 20 percent below the national average.

Northeast Ohio is strong in several key industries including polymers, liquid crystal displays, chemicals, bioscience, fuel cells, distribution and logistics.

The climate is right for business in Northeast Ohio. Supported by the State of Ohio’s new tax structure and millions of dollars invested in technology, education and workforce development, the Northeast Ohio region offers all the elements of success in today’s global marketplace. Ohio offers the third-lowest tax rate in the nation, according to a report released in April 2011 by Ernst & Young LLP and the Council On State Taxation (COST).

Historically a global leader in manufacturing, Northeast Ohio is transitioning to the 21st century knowledge economy. Access to markets is a key advantage of the area: The region is within a 500 mile radius of 41 percent of all U.S. households, 55 percent of all U.S. manufacturing facilities, 58 percent of the top 500 U.S. industrial headquarters, and 56 percent of the top 500 U.S. service corporate headquarters. Five major U.S. interstate highways intersect the area providing continuous roadways for the region’s numerous over-the-road freight companies.

Greater Akron: A Vertically Integrated Phenomenon

Greater Akron: a phenomenon, a distinct competitive advantage and a unique combination of strengths. A booming technology region nestled among more than 40,000 acres of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, with abundant resources for arts and recreation—Akron has what it takes to bring out the best in businesses and people alike.

The Greater Akron region, comprised of Summit, Portage and Medina counties, is rich in history, commerce, industry and culture. Greater Akron is home to more than 21,000 enterprises, including more than 150 Fortune 500 companies. In recent years, more than $2.5 billion in private capital has flowed into new plants and plant expansions, a testament to the value of the region’s economic and business climate in growing businesses.

Greater Akron is one of the few vertically integrated metropolitan areas in the country, which means that an idea can progress from inception to distribution using local resources exclusively. The region benefits from a unique ethos of collaboration. The city of Akron, Summit County, Portage County and the Greater Akron Chamber all work together to create opportunity in a cooperative spirit that does not exist in many other metropolitan areas. Rapidly growing science, medical and technical industries weave seamlessly into thousands of acres of park lands. Global business interests flourish alongside local businesses and leafy, tightly knit neighborhoods.

Akron has been ranked no. 2 among metros with populations of 200,000 to 1 million for new business expansions. Bridgestone Americas built a $100 million technical center adjacent to its Akron operations that will keep 1,000 employees in Akron. For more than 110 years, the world and North American headquarters of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company has been located in Akron; now a $900 million development will be anchored by Goodyear’s new 450,000 square foot world headquarters and include ½ million square feet of office, retail and residential space.

Akron, in the heart of Summit County, is within a 500-mile radius of 42 major U.S. cities and encompasses 55% of all U.S. manufacturing plants, 57% of the U.S. population, 60% of America’s buying power, and 65% of Canada’s economic activity. The region has one of the largest concentrations of polymerrelated industries in the world, with more than 400 polymer related companies and close to 35,000 employees.

Akron is home to three of the region’s top medical centers and close to the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic. A public- and private-sector partnership in October 2008 launched the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron to capitalize on our city’s longstanding strengths in research, education and health care, with the goal of creating a nationally distinctive center of excellence for biomaterials and medicine.

Marking the region as a major educational center, more than 30 universities and colleges are within a 50-mile radius of Greater Akron. The University of Akron provides direct research education in the polymer industry and Kent State University’s Liquid Crystal Institute provides the most comprehensive research and education in the field of liquid crystal technology.

Akron is in the heart of Northeastern Ohio, a 4 million-population region that is home to major league sports in baseball, football and basketball and hosts a major pro golf event. It has Cuyahoga Valley National Park—Ohio’s only national park and one of the most visited parks in the National Park system—as well metro and state parks, the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail and Canalway National Heritage Area, and Blossom Music Center, summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra. NE Ohio offers such cultural treasures as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, renowned art museums and a host of performing arts venues.

You can tour local wineries, sample the creations of internationally renowned chefs, expand your mind at university and cultural programs, and soak up the vibrant and varied nightlife. Not far away are the serenity of Amish Country and the recreational treasures of the Lake Erie shores and islands.

The University of Akron and Kent State University have created redevelopment Master Plans and are implementing their plans around eclectic, historical neighborhoods full of living, dining and entertainment possibilities, to return the areas around the University of Akron and Kent State University to traditional urban neighborhoods where interesting people live, great ideas thrive and community matters.

Youngstown Drives Growth

When it comes to new project wins and garnering international recognition for its revitalization, the list continually gets longer and longer for the Youngstown-Warren area. For many years, the “Mahoning Valley” epitomized the negative perception of the Rust Belt. Now the area is the center point of the revitalized Cleveland-Pittsburgh TechBelt, and the world is noticing. The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber reports that since 2008, economic development projects announced have resulted in an impressive $1.5 billion in investment, with 5,256 new jobs created and 7,855 jobs retained.

What is driving this growth? Companies have recognized that the Mahoning Valley has the optimal combination of excellent logistical infrastructure, lower cost of establishing operations and skilled workforce, particularly in advanced manufacturing.

One example of this is the Valley’s position at the gateway to both the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. This has attracted considerable investment in supply chain activity. V&M and VAM USA, both subsidiaries of Vallourec, have announced investments totaling more than $700 million for new plants to produce tubes and couplings associated with shale drilling. TMK Ipsco, Exterran, De-Cal and Weatherford have all decided to locate shale operations here, while companies like Dearing Compressor & Pump, JMC’s Wheatland Tube and Valley Electrical Consolidated have all increased their existing footprint.

One of the key reasons why the Valley has been winning these projects is the region’s one-stop shop mentality for prospective companies. Sarah Boyarko, vice-president of Economic Development, Business Retention and Expansion for the Chamber, acts as the key liaison when site selection RFPs are introduced to the area. From there, she introduces companies to state and local officials to create incentive packages and to other agencies and port authorities that can provide bond financing, SBA loan programs and customized workforce development programs for interested companies. “All the key players in the Mahoning Valley recognize that making the client’s life easier as they select a location gives us a distinct advantage,” states Boyarko. “We give the client the tools and options for them to make informed decisions, and that practice has had demonstrable results.”

Cuyahoga Valley Industrial Center: Cleveland’s Gem

Located in the heart of Cleveland’s industrial valley, the Cuyahoga Valley Industrial Center (CVIC) is the largest manufacturing development opportunity in the City of Cleveland in the last 50 years. To put it in context, the last time there was a development opportunity of this magnitude within the city’s limits, Clevelanders were busy celebrating their last major sports championship.

Beyond its historical significance, what characteristics make this site appealing for end users and/or developers? This unique site represents the City of Cleveland’s only opportunity for a developer or end user to locate a new 750,000 square foot manufacturing facility that would support 750 to 1,000 new jobs. It also offers end users and/or developers four key advantages: strong community investment and support, a strategic location with unparalleled logistics and access and a skilled workforce, high capacity infrastructure and eager transaction partners.

While opportunities for greenfield development abound throughout Ohio, the CVIC site offers end users and/or developers the unique opportunity to return more than 60 acres of urban land to a productive economic use. This opportunity has not gone unnoticed by industry and political leadership in the state and region. As a demonstration of the site’s considerable economic potential, the State of Ohio Department of Development supported the site preparation with both a Job Ready Site and 629 Infrastructure grant. Additionally, the City of Cleveland has demonstrated its commitment to the redevelopment through both financing and legislative support. In fact, the site recently received recognition as the 2011 Industrial Transaction of the Year from the Northern Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP).

Offering more than 60 acres of shovel-ready land, the site’s industrial use is consistent with the surrounding uses. It aligns with the City of Cleveland’s long-term vision for the area, and represents a significant industrial development opportunity without environmental concerns. Furthermore, the site is strategically located within three miles of the city’s core and has ¾ of a mile of highway frontage on Interstate 77 between the Pershing Avenue and Fleet Avenue exits. This highway exposure would undoubtedly benefit those industries that desire high visibility, such as consumer products, electronics, and medical device manufacturing. In addition to its location along a major interstate, it has onsite Class-1 short line rail via Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway, providing access to both Norfolk Southern and CSX networks. Finally, through its location at the Greater Cleveland region’s core, the site offers immediate accessibility to the region’s turnkey industrial workforce and provides an end user an unmatched opportunity to leverage the area’s surrounding industrial firms, transportation infrastructure and skilled workforce. In addition, the region’s workforce development programs have been instrumental in Ohio’s position as the leader in the U.S. manufacturing sector recovery. In Cleveland, they still know how to make things.

Beyond the site’s advantages of its favorable standing with local leadership and strategic location are the improvements already completed. The CVIC site offers an end user or developer high capacity onsite utilities and considerable road improvements. In compliance with the Ohio Job Ready Site and 629 Infrastructure grant, the site has been improved with direct connection to all utilities at high industrial capacities and provides connectivity to ArcelorMittal’s steel complex and both Heidtman Steel’s and Steel Warehouse’s recently developed operations. The site is well positioned to accommodate a link in the existing steel supply chain, as well as the potential to attract suppliers for alternative energy initiatives (including the steel component manufacturers supplying the current booming oil and gas activity in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, wind turbine components, etc.) in need of direct input of steel materials and/or sea-based transportation (notwithstanding convenient rail and highway transportation) of supplies and products.

Additionally, the site is served by the following utilities and capacities:

• Water: City of Cleveland Water Dept.—30-in. line, 70-80 lbs./sq. in.
• Sewer: Northeast Ohio Sewer District–12-in. line, 1.1 to 1.6 million gallons/day
• Electric: Cleveland Public Power—6 megawatts
• Gas: Dominion East Ohio -20-in. line, 95 lbs./sq. inch

While the site’s three tangible benefits are clear, its fourth differentiator is equally critical to its development; the ease with which transaction partners can engage with local leadership. The site is owned by a nonprofit organization, the Greater Cleveland Community Improvement Corporation, which has a volunteer board of trustees comprised of three deeply experienced economic development professionals. The development team, Value Recovery Partners North Coast, is a joint venture of multi-disciplinary firms, including: Value Recovery Group, a government asset management firm based in Columbus, the state capital; Hull & Associates, a regional environmental engineering firm, headquartered in Ohio; and Allegro Realty Advisors, a global corporate real estate services firm headquartered in Cleveland. Based on the public financial partners, the ownership entity, and the project team, the site is positioned to receive meaningful attention and high priority cooperation from State, County, and municipal governments.

The team at Allegro Realty Advisors is well-versed on the site and eager to collaborate with a developer or end-user to develop the site, return it to an economically productive use, and extend the area’s rich manufacturing history into the future. For more information, contact Michael Cantor or Julia Iselin at 216-965-0630.

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Joseph E. Zeis, Jr., Vice President and Chief Strategist, The Dayton Development Coalition

By Business Facilities Staff
From the March/April 2012 issue

Joseph E. Zeis, Jr. will be heading the new Ohio Aerospace and Business Aviation Advisory Council.

BF: What role will the new Ohio Aerospace and Business Aviation Advisory Council play in shaping the state’s aerospace development strategy?
JZ: The aerospace council is focused on supporting existing aerospace industries and raising the profile of Ohio to its rightful place as an industry leader. From our beginnings as the birthplace of aviation we are now home to two major federal installations that are shaping the future of the industry—Wright-Patterson (WP) Air Force Base and NASA Glenn Research Center, and a major aerospace prime, GE Aviation. We have a vibrant base of aerospace suppliers and subs as well. The Ohio Aerospace Council provides a single voice for the state’s aerospace vision and a focused, coherent strategy.

BF: With the U.S. military downsizing, will your strategy focus on retaining Ohio’s existing aerospace employment base?
JZ: Military budget pressures will force the nation to seek efficiencies within the defense and aerospace industry that the current structure has not been able to deliver on. But Ohio and the Dayton Region are in a position to take advantage of this key paradigm shift. Co-location of globally competitive clusters in propulsion, sensors, human performance, advanced materials and manufacturing make this a key attractant to an industry that needs to compensate for loss of internal research and development funds or capabilities. The proximity of AFRL and the acquisition arm of the USAF Aeronautical Systems Center make Ohio the ideal spot to gain the [needed] efficiencies.

BF: How has your experience as chief strategist for the Dayton Development Coalition (DDC) prepared you to lead this statewide effort?
JZ: I have had opportunities at the Coalition to see firsthand the strength of the Ohio industrial base. It’s important to recognize that Ohio is the #1 supplier to Airbus and #2 to Boeing. Imagine the power of bringing that supply chain together with the R&D base of AFRL and NASA Glenn and the acquisition arm of ASC. That is a competitive advantage that is unmatched in the nation.

BF: What makes Dayton the best potential test site for the integration of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAVs) into the National Airspace System?
JZ: R&D and acquisition of UAVs in USAF exists at WP—that is a critical part of their mission in Ohio. I think the resident knowledge that exists here has the power to solve key issues of UAV operations, accelerate NAS integration and unlock the multi-billion dollar industry. Intellectual and physical R&D resources are the key to making this happen. UAV Research, acquisition, operations, sensor systems development, human integration and research tools make Ohio not just a good candidate, but also location for enduring partnerships in the UAV industry.

BF: What role will Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) play in the development of the UAV industry in Ohio?
JZ: SAIC will execute a study called the Ohio Airspace Strategic Integration Study, or OASIS, which will be a pathfinder process that both the FAA and AF can use to develop a disciplined and controlled process for expansion of UAVs operations into the national airspace.

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