THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, January 22, 2014 p
BUSINESS
Next big unmanned thing Local companies expect market for unmanned aircraft to mushroom
Lockheed long involved in unmanned craft
n
BY
KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER
These days have been a long time coming for William Harvey, CEO of Gaithersburg-based Brandebury Tool Co. With the federal government pushing to open the nation’s airspace to unmanned aircraft by 2015, businesses like Brandebury and Proxy Technologies are standing on a wave of the next big thing. “I think [unmanned craft] will radically change human transport in the future,” said Harvey, who has worked on unmanned systems for more than 30 years. His business, which operates out of the Montgomery County Airpark, has produced fixed-wing airframes for L-3’s TigerShark unmanned aerial vehicle, among other products in the field. Worldwide annual sales of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are expected to grow from $5.2 billion in 2013 to $11.6 billion by 2023, according to research company Teal Group Corp. The economic impact of the industry in the U.S. alone is projected to rise from $2.3 billion in 2015 to $10.1 billion in 2025, according to the Arlington, Va.-based Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. That’s assuming the Federal Aviation Administration meets its congressional mandate to fully integrate UAVs into the national airspace by 2015. Maryland’s economic impact from the unmanned industry between 2015 and 2025 is expected to be about $2 billion, the 14th highest among states. California tops that list with $14.4 billion. The government’s work in this area includes the FAA recently choosing a partnership between Virginia Tech and Rutgers as one of six nationally to test the integration of unmanned craft into the airspace. A proposal by the University of Maryland, which has researchers working on unmanned projects, was not chosen, but Maryland officials signed a collab-
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LOCKHEED MARTIN
An artist’s rendering of the 2011 test flight of the Lockheed Martin-built Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2. The unmanned, rocketlaunched aircraft flew for about nine minutes and reached Mach 20 — about 13,000 mph — before crashing into the Pacific Ocean, officials said.
orative agreement with the Virginia TechRutgers partnership. That should give a boost to companies like Brandebury and Proxy, officials said. “It could provide additional avenues of research and development,” said Bob Davis, CEO and president of Proxy, which formed about a decade ago and initially worked on developing actual unmanned aircraft itself. Proxy also has its operations center at the Montgomery County Airpark, where employees work on Proteus automation software and a hardware system called PACS that they say can convert manned aircraft into “optionally piloted vehicles.” “We have converted four aircraft so far, and are working to get into a larger volume production,” Davis said.
Bethesda defense and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has long been involved in the unmanned craft industry. The company has developed unmanned cargo helicopters and aerial systems like the Desert Hawk to allow soldiers to see what’s over the next hill. It is helping with the SR-72 unmanned hypersonic spy plane being developed by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and has worked on DARPA’s Falcon hypersonic craft, which reached Mach 20 — about 13,000 miles per hour — on a 2011 test flight. The SR-72 is an “end-state concept” envisioned for flight around 2030, said Heather Kelso, a spokeswoman for Lockheed’s advanced technology Skunk Works division. Lockheed also developed the Marlin underwater vehicle that has been used by oil companies like Chevron and others as a quicker and safer way to conduct undersea inspections of rigs and other equipment. The 10-foot long Marlin, which can dive up to 1,000 feet below the surface, gave Chevron immediate information, rather than having to sometimes wait days for data.
Other commercial applications In the near future, some envision unmanned craft fighting fires, working to prevent crime and delivering packages and the mail. Even Bethesda-based Wydler Brothers, a realty company affiliated with Long & Foster, tested drones to help produce a sales video of a neighborhood, according to published reports. “There are a lot of civilian applications,” Harvey said. “It has to make sense to the majority of the population. People will need to get over the feeling of having their privacy invaded. It’s not just about surveillance, but there are a lot of applications. ... It will happen. The parts are in place.” kshay@gazette.net
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Physician opens weight-loss center in Rockville Dr. Asia McDonald has opened Dr. Fit Medical Weight Loss and Wellness Center at 6119 Executive Blvd., Rockville. The center’s goal is “to guide our patients [through] the achievement of their sustainable weight loss goals,” McDonald, a family physician, said in a statement. “Our medical weight loss services are provided by licensed and skilled practitioners in the fields of medicine, nutrition, counseling and fitness.” The center is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Its phone number is 301-684-8366 and its website is drfitmd.com. Italian restaurant chain opens in Germantown
La Tagliatella opens An Italian restaurant, La Tagliatella, has opened at the new Shops at Seneca Meadows in Germantown. The restaurant, which specializes in northern Italian cuisine and gourmet pizza, serves dinner, plus lunches that feature smaller portions. Key ingredients come from a network of small growers and manufacturers throughout Italy, according to a news release. The week before its public opening, La Tagliatella held a fundraiser, raising more than $1,300 for the nonprofit Manna Food Center of Gaithersburg. The restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Its address is 20630 Seneca Meadows Parkway, Suite E-1, at the corner of Observation Drive; its website is latagliatella.us; and its phone number is 240-449-8686. The general manager is Ashley Chloe. This is the restaurant chain’s sixth U.S. location.
Web design firm to graduate from incubator SW Creatives, a graphic and web design firm that works with area nonprofits and community organizations, will graduate in February from Montgomery County’s Wheaton Business Innovation Center incubator. SW Creatives has signed a five-year lease for about 1,700 square feet in the World Building at 8121 Georgia Ave., Suite 600, in downtown Silver Spring. The company plans to move in by March 1. The new location also houses the company’s Creative Colony, a co-working space for communications professionals. The company had one employee when it launched in 2008 and now has five. Being in the incubator “definitely improved my business, allowing me to develop relationships with strategic partners and exposing me to international business — all within a very supportive environment,” Shala W. Graham, principal and creative director, said in a statement from the county. “Having a real office changed the perception of my small business, bringing in more clients and allowing us to turn a profit each year.”