Engadget is reporting that Insitu's Scan Eagle X200 and AeroVironment's Puma are the first UAVs to snag FAA approval for commercial operations, and they're set to take to the skies later this summer.

These craft weigh less than 55 pounds and measure four and a half feet long.



It also bears mention that these drones are currently to be used for patrolling the Alaskan coast, watching migrating whales, ice floes, etc., but that’s how it always starts. One wonders if the Patriot Act will be used in this area as broadly as it has been in reading emails and phone calls for years before we are made aware.