

ICAO classifies uncrewed aircraft as either remotely piloted aircraft or fully autonomous. There are usually four categories when UAVs are classified by size, with at least one of the dimensions (length or wingspan) meet the following respective limits: Category:īased on their weight, drones can be classified into 5 categories-ĭrones could also be classified based on the degree of autonomy in their flight operations. According to the United States Department of Defense, UAVs are classified into five categories below: Group: UAVs may be classified like any other aircraft, according to design configuration such as weight or engine type, maximum flight altitude, degree of operational autonomy, operational role, etc. Under new regulations which came into effect 1 June 2019, the term RPAS has been adopted by the Canadian Government to mean "a set of configurable elements consisting of a remotely piloted aircraft, its control station, the command and control links and any other system elements required during flight operation". Similar terms are unmanned-aircraft vehicle system ( UAVS) and remotely piloted aircraft system ( RPAS).


It includes elements such as ground control stations, data links and other support equipment. This term emphasizes the importance of elements other than the aircraft. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the British Civil Aviation Authority adopted this term, also used in the European Union's Single-European-Sky (SES) Air-Traffic-Management (ATM) Research (SESAR Joint Undertaking) roadmap for 2020. The term UAS was adopted by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2005 according to their Unmanned Aircraft System Roadmap 2005–2030. UAVs or RPAVs can also be seen as a component of an unmanned aircraft system ( UAS), which also includes a ground-based controller and a system of communications with the aircraft. Ī similar term is remotely piloted aerial vehicle ( RPAV). Some jurisdictions base their definition on size or weight however, the US FAA defines any uncrewed flying craft as a UAV regardless of size. Also, the relation of UAVs to remote controlled model aircraft is unclear, UAVs may or may not include remote-controlled model aircraft. Missiles with warheads are generally not considered UAVs because the vehicle itself is a munition, but certain types of propeller-based missile are often called " kamikaze drones" by the public and media. UAV is a term that is commonly applied to military use cases. Īn unmanned aerial vehicle ( UAV) is defined as a "powered, aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator, uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, can be expendable or recoverable, and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload". For recreational uses, an aerial photography drone is an aircraft that has first-person video, autonomous capabilities, or both. In addition to the software, autonomous drones also employ a host of advanced technologies that allow them to carry out their missions without human intervention, such as cloud computing, computer vision, artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and thermal sensors. Later examples included the Airspeed Queen Wasp and Miles Queen Martinet, before ultimate replacement by the GAF Jindivik. The term drone has been used from the early days of aviation, being applied to remotely flown target aircraft used for practice firing of a battleship's guns, such as the 1920s Fairey Queen and 1930s de Havilland Queen Bee. Many terms are used for aircraft which fly without any persons on board. These include aerial photography, precision agriculture, forest fire monitoring, river monitoring, environmental monitoring, policing and surveillance, infrastructure inspections, smuggling, product deliveries, entertainment, and drone racing. As control technologies improved and costs fell, their use expanded to many non-military applications. UAVs were originally developed through the twentieth century for military missions too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for humans, and by the twenty-first, they had become essential assets to most militaries. Prototype of Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik-B, a heavy UCAVĪn unmanned aerial vehicle ( UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. For other uses, see UAV (disambiguation).Įlbit Systems Hermes-450 taking off Northrop Grumman Bat carrying EO/IR and SAR sensors, laser range finders, laser designators, infra-red cameras A DJI Phantom quadcopter UAV for commercial and recreational aerial photography A General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, a hunter-killer surveillance UAV Although most large military UAVs are fixed-wing aircraft, rotorcraft designs (i.e., RUAVs) such as this MQ-8B Fire Scout are also used.
