Nasa to test drone in commercial airspace

[ORLANDO] The Predator drone, known for its stealthy strikes on terrorists, will begin flight tests early next year to prove that large unmanned aircraft are safe while operating amid commercial planes.

Researchers will be studying so-called sense-and-avoid technology, designed to alert the drone's remote pilot to nearby aircraft, according to Chuck Johnson, senior adviser for unmanned and autonomous systems at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa).

Nasa's goal: Harvest data that will help design systems so that big drones can fly above 18,000 feet, in airspace used by airliners, cargo planes and business jets. Pilotless aircraft could be used to haul freight or hover high in the sky to beam Internet signals across remote terrain, Mr Johnson said.