The first airport dedicated to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) will open in Wales following the UK Civil Aviation Authority decision to grant permission to the West Wales Airport in Aberporth and dedicate 500-square miles of airspace to UAV. The airspace will however be shared in so far as general aviation will be able to pass it and the Royal Air Force will be conducting training missions in the region. The creation of an airport dedicated to UAV signals an important step in the integration of manned and unmanned systems into the same airspace.

With this development the Welsh government is hoping to draw commercial firms who are restricted to testing their aircraft in restricted military airspace. The airport is bound to attract companies who are investing in drone aircraft for commercial, scientific as well as military application. UAV have several environmental applications such as monitoring peat bog releases, which is responsible for a large amount of CO2 being released into the atmosphere.

There are parallel initiatives to integrate manned and unmanned systems in both Australia and the United States. The results from the Smart Skies pilot programme just outside of Brisbane will be used to develop flight rules in Australia. Additionally there are experimental airspaces in New Mexico, Oregon and Oklahoma albeit with more restrictions. The Federal Aviation Administration aims to have flight rules for UAV in place by 2025.