An unmanned aerial vehicle ( UAV ; also known as a remotely operated aircraft ) is an aircraft that flies without a human crew. Their largest uses are in military applications. To distinguish UAVs from missiles, a UAV is defined as a reusable, uncrewed vehicle capable of controlled, sustained, level flight and powered by a jet or reciprocating engine. Therefore, cruise missiles are not considered UAVs, because, like many other guided missiles, the vehicle itself is a weapon that is not reused, even though it is also unmanned and in some cases remotely guided.
There is a wide variety of UAV shapes, sizes, configurations, and characteristics. Historically, UAVs were simple drones (remotely piloted aircraft), but autonomous control is increasingly being employed in UAVs. UAVs come in two varieties: some are controlled from a remote location, and others fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans using more complex dynamic automation systems.
Currently, military UAVs perform reconnaissance as well as attack missions. While many successful drone attacks on militants have been reported, they are also prone to collateral damage and/or erroneous targeting, as with many other weapon types. UAVs are also used in a small but growing number of civil applications, such as firefighting. UAVs are often preferred for missions that are too "dull, dirty, or dangerous" for manned aircraft.
The abbreviation UAV has been expanded in some cases to UAVS ( u nmanned- a ircraft v ehicle s ystem). The Federal Aviation Administration has adopted the generic class unmanned aircraft system ( UAS ) originally introduced by the U.S. Navy to reflect the fact that these are not just aircraft, but systems, including ground stations and other elements.
History
Main article: History of unmanned aerial vehiclesThe earliest UAV was A. M. Low's "Aerial Target" of 1916. A number of remote-controlled airplane advances followed, including the Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane, during and after World War I, including the first scale RPV (Remote Piloted Vehicle), developed by the film star and model airplane enthusiast Reginald Denny in 1935. More were made in the technology rush during the Second World War; these were used both to train antiaircraft gunners and to fly attack missions. Jet engines were applied after WW2, in such types as the Teledyne Ryan Firebee I of 1951, while companies like Beechcraft also got in the game with their Model 1001 for the United States Navy in 1955. Nevertheless, they were little more than remote-controlled airplanes until the Vietnam Era.
With the maturing and miniaturization of applicable technologies as seen in the 1980s and 1990s, interest in UAVs grew within the higher echelons of the US military. UAVs were seen to offer the possibility of cheaper, more capable fighting machines that could be used without risk to aircrews. Initial generations were primarily surveillance aircraft, but some were armed (such as the MQ-1 Predator, which utilized AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles). An armed UAV is known as an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV).
As a tool for search and rescue, UAVs can help find humans lost in the wilderness, trapped in collapsed buildings, or adrift at sea.
UAV classification
UAVs typically fall into one of six functional categories (although multi-role airframe platforms are becoming more prevalent):
- Target and decoy - providing ground and aerial gunnery a target that simulates an enemy aircraft or missile
- Reconnaissance - providing battlefield intelligence
- Combat - providing attack capability for high-risk missions (see Unmanned combat air vehicle)
- Logistics - UAVs specifically designed for cargo and logistics operation
- Research and development - used to further develop UAV technologies to be integrated into field deployed UAV aircraft
- Civil and Commercial UAVs - UAVs specifically designed for civil and commercial applications
They can also be categorised in terms of range/altitude and the following has been advanced as relevant at such industry events as ParcAberporth Unmanned Systems forum:
- Handheld 2,000 ft (600 m) altitude, about 2 km range
- Close 5,000 ft (1,500 m) altitude, up to 10 km range
- NATO type 10,000 ft (3,000 m) altitude, up to 50 km range
- Tactical 18,000 ft (5,500 m) altitude, about 160 km range
- MALE (medium altitude, long endurance) up to 30,000 ft (9,000 m) and range over 200 km
- HALE (high altitude, long endurance) over 30,000 ft and indefinite range
- HYPERSONIC high-speed, supersonic (Mach 1-5) or hypersonic (Mach 5+) 50,000 ft (15,200 m) or suborbital altitude, range over 200 km
- ORBITAL low earth orbit (Mach 25+)
- CIS Lunar Earth-Moon transfer
Additional category can be applied in pattern of function: fixed routes vs. dynamically variable routes:
- A Train Cable UAV (TCUAV) is a combination of three concepts: unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), and trains.
The United States military employs a tier system for categorizing its UAVs.
United States military UAV classifications
The modern concept of U.S. military UAVs is to have the various aircraft systems work together in support of personnel on the ground. The integration scheme is described in terms of a "Tier" system, and is used by military planners to designate the various individual aircraft elements in an overall usage plan for integrated operations. The Tiers do not refer to specific models of aircraft, but rather roles for which various models and their manufacturers competed. The U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Marine Corps each has its own tier system, and the two systems are themselves not integrated.
US Air Force tiers
- Tier N/A: Small/Micro UAV. Role filled by BATMAV (Wasp Block III).
- Tier I: Low altitude, long endurance. Role filled by the Gnat 750.
- Tier II: Medium altitude, long endurance (MALE). Role currently filled by the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper.
- Tier II+: High altitude, long endurance conventional UAV (or HALE UAV). Altitude: 60,000 to 65,000 feet (19,800 m), less than 300 knots (560 km/h) airspeed, 3,000-nautical-mile (6,000 km) radius, 24 hour time-on-station capability. Complementary to the Tier III- aircraft. Role currently filled by the RQ-4 Global Hawk.
- Tier III-: High altitude, long endurance low-observable UAV. Same parameters as, and complementary to, the Tier II+ aircraft. The RQ-3 DarkStar was originally intended to fulfill this role before it was "terminated."
US Marine Corps tiers
- Tier N/A: Micro UAV. Wasp III fills this role, driven largely by the desire for commonality with the USAF BATMAV.
- Tier I: Role currently filled by the Dragon Eye but all ongoing and future procurement for the Dragon Eye program is going now to the RQ-11B Raven B.
- Tier II: Role currently filled by the ScanEagle and, to some extent, the RQ-2 Pioneer.
- Tier III: For two decades, the role of medium range tactical UAV was filled by the Pioneer UAV. In July 2007, the Marine Corps announced its intention to retire the aging Pioneer fleet and transition to the Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System by AAI Corporation. The first Marine Shadow systems have already been delivered, and training for their respective Marine Corps units is underway.
U.S. Army tiers
- Tier I: Small UAV. Role filled by the RQ-11A/B Raven.
- Tier II: Short Range Tactical UAV. Role filled by the RQ-7A/B Shadow 200.
- Tier III: Medium Range Tactical UAV. Role currently filled by the RQ-5A / MQ-5A/B Hunter and IGNAT/IGNAT-ER, but transitioning to the Extended Range Multi-Purpose (ERMP) MQ-1C Warrior.
Future Combat Systems (FCS) (U.S. Army) classes
- Class I: For small units. Role to be filled by all new UAV with some similarity to Micro Air Vehicle.
- Class II: For companies. (cancelled.)
- Class III: For battalions. (cancelled.)
- Class IV: For brigades. Role to be filled by the RQ-8A/B / MQ-8B Fire Scout.
Unmanned aircraft system
UAS , or unmanned aircraft system, is the
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