unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), military aircraft that is guided autonomously, by remote control, or both and that carries sensors, target designators, offensive ordnance, or electronic transmitters designed to interfere with or destroy enemy targets. Unencumbered by crew, life-support systems, and the design-safety requirements of manned aircraft, UAVs can be remarkably efficient, offering substantially greater range and endurance than equivalent manned systems.
UAVs are descended from target drones and remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs) employed by the military forces of many countries in the decades immediately after World War II. Modern UAVs debuted as an important weapons system in the early 1980s, when the Israeli Defense Forces fitted small drones resembling large model airplanes with trainable television and infrared cameras and with target designators for laser-guided munitions, all downlinked to a control station. Rendered undetectable by their small size and quiet engines, these vehicles proved effective in battlefield surveillance and target designation. Other armed forces learned from the Israeli success, notably the United States, which purchased some of the early Israeli models or produced them under license. The most important American tactical UAV—and one that is representative of trends in the development of these aircraft—is the MQ-1 Predator, which first flew in 1994 and entered service the following year. The Predator, with a length of 26 feet 8 inches (8 metres) and a wingspan of 41 feet 8 inches (12.5 metres), is powered by a piston engine driving a pusher propeller. It flies at 80 miles (130 km) per hour and has an endurance of 24 hours. In addition to visible and infrared television, it carries synthetic aperture radar and passive electronic sensors, and it can also carry antitank missiles. Control inputs and sensor outputs are transmitted via communications satellite. A larger, turboprop-powered derivative of the Predator, the MQ-9 Reaper, has improved performance and carries a larger ordnance load. Both the Predator and the Reaper have been used in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and have been purchased by allies of the United States.
Larger UAVs are used for strategic reconnaissance. The most important of these is the U.S. RQ-4 Global Hawk, a jet-powered craft 44 feet (13 metres) long and with a wingspan of 116 feet (35 metres). The Global Hawk has a cruise speed of 400 miles (640 km) per hour and an endurance of some 36 hours, and it carries a variety of photographic, radar, and electronic sensors.
Extremely small UAVs, in some cases hand-launched, are used to extend the vision of ground combat units beyond their front lines. For more information, see military aircraft: Unmanned aerial vehicles.