Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an aircraft designed to fly without a pilot on board. UAV’s are often called drones. They are also called remotely piloted vehicles (RPV’s), or remotely operated aircraft (ROA). Many UAV’s are used by national armed forces. Advanced electronics systems enable UAV’s to collect and transmit large amounts of information.
UAV’s are commonly used by the military for surveillance, reconnaissance, and identification of battlefield targets. Some military drones carry missles that can be fired at a target by remote control. UAV’s often perform dangerous missions that would put a pilot at risk, such as flying into hostile territory. United States forces made some use of UAV systems to search for targets during the Persian Gulf War of 1991. They began to use drones more extensively during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in the early 2000’s.
Many military UAV’s are fixed-wing craft. Such craft have a design similar to that of an airplane. However, most drones purchased by consumers have rotary-wing designs similar to that of a helicopter. These drones can hover over a particular location. People often fly such drones for recreation or to take aerial photos or video.
UAV’s do not need many features required by piloted aircraft, such as cockpits and pilot safety systems. Thus, UAV’s can be smaller and less expensive to build than similar conventional aircraft. However, the additional electronic systems required by large UAV’s can make them cost about the same.
Some UAV’s are programmed before a mission to follow a set of instructions. Others are flown manually by a remote operator. All UAV’s today communicate with an operator, who can change the mission at any time. The operator may track the UAV from a ship, an aircraft, or the ground. If communication is cut off, some UAV’s follow preprogrammed instructions. They may fly to a specific location and wait until communication is reestablished.
