Drone Timeline By Ghostman7979 Period: Jan 1, 1990 to Aug 15, 2014 Drone timespan May 17, 1992 CIA buys 5 Gnat drones in secret Jan 12, 1994 General Atomics are contracted to build RQ-1 Predator drones Feb 21, 2001 Drones fitted with hellfire missile tests May 18, 2006 Drones Authorized for use in the U.S. Civilian Air space May 17, 2007 Drone Pilots awarded medals Jun 20, 2007 Drones deployed to Afghanistan Jul 12, 2012 Pentagon wants to award drone pilots with medal of bravery Oct 17, 2012 debates over drone pilot awards