The Socom notification is a big deal for the drone industry, said Phil Finnegan, director of corporate analysis for the Teal Group, an aerospace defense consulting firm. "From the industry perspective this is important, because there are very few programs out there," said Finnegan. "Companies are eager not just to get the business, but to get a blue chip customer like Socom."

Phil Finnegan, an aviation analyst with the Teal Group, said while the U.S. has led the world in developing the technology behind drones, it's fallen far behind when it comes to letting them fly legally.

"Countries like Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom — a lot of European countries — are going after this market," he says.

It'll take the FAA several years to finalize regulations for all drones, Finnegan says, but he believes this initial move will make the American motion picture industry more competitive on the world stage.

The global drone aircraft industry will nearly triple in sales over the next 10 years, good news for London’s Diamond Aircraft. The local manufacturer is partnering with American military giant Northrop Grumman to make aerial surveillance aircraft here, the first likely to roll off the line by year’s end. “It is a growth area. If they are offering manned systems they are low cost and in demand around the world and there is a growing appeal,” said Phil Finnegan, director of corporate analysis at Fairfax, Va.,-based aerospace and defense consultancy Teal Group. “If they add unmanned, it increases the potential.” In 2013, the global surveillance aircraft industry was valued at about $3.1 billion a year. By 2022 that will grow to $8.1 billion, he said.

It's probably not a deal-breaker for a country like Pakistan if Chinese drones lack the ability to transmit information, or resolution, the way American-made models do. "The Chinese technology will be less advanced," Phil Finnegan, the director of corporate analysis for Teal Group, says. "But it's a big advance over not having the technology at all." Pakistan may actually get a better deal partnering with China to tailor still-developing technology to its desired range for lethal strikes, and custom-fit weapons it already has for drones.

While the FAA is facing criticism for ongoing delays, it is a daunting task that takes time, said Phil Finnegan, director of corporate analysis at The Teal Group, a Fairfax, Virginia-based defense and aerospace market analysis firm. “It’s a difficult issue. The FAA is concerned about safety in the airspace, so they are going to go slowly and maybe err on the side of caution,” Finnegan said. “But they need to be assured that this is a safe process. There are a lot of complexities with the technology, and so they are doing a very thorough job. It’s just not easy.” The most that can be hoped for by September 2015 is a plan that will outline gradual steps toward an open airspace, Finnegan said.