UAV Drones

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — commonly known as drones — are aircraft without a pilot on board. They are flown by remote control from the ground or fly on their own with a programmed route. Armed drones are called UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles); large drones that can stay in the air for a whole day are called MALE (medium altitude, long endurance) or HALE (high altitude, long endurance) drones.

Radio-controlled target aircraft were already flown in the 1930s: the de Havilland Queen Bee gave drones their name. The jet-powered Ryan Firebee followed in the 1950s and flew reconnaissance missions over Vietnam. Since the General Atomics Predator of the 1990s drones are used for reconnaissance, combat, air refuelling and as loyal wingmen that fly together with fighter aircraft.