North Dakota officials want the state to be a player in the commercial development of unmanned vehicles.

Gov. John Hoeven was among the participants at a workshop Tuesday in Grand Forks to discuss an unmanned aerial vehicle mission at the Grand Forks Air Force Base and potential commercial projects.

The University of North Dakota is to test its first unmanned aerial vehicle, courtesy of defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp., later this year.

The Pentagon has said UAVs would be part of a new mission for the Grand Forks Air Force Base and Fargo’s Air National Guard unit. UAVs - some of which are known as Shadow, Predator and Hunter_ come in a different sizes. They have been used to collect intelligence in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Source and more info: Forum Communications