The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Initially conceived in the early 1990s for aerial reconnaissance and forward observation roles, the Predator carries cameras and other sensors. It was modified and upgraded to carry and fire two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles or other munitions. The aircraft entered service in 1995, and saw combat in the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the NATO intervention in Bosnia, Serbia, the Iraq War, Yemen, the 2011 Libyan civil war, the 2014 intervention in Syria, and Somalia.
The AAI RQ-2 Pioneer is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that had been used by the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Army, and deployed at sea and on land from 1986 until 2007. Initially tested aboard USS Iowa, the RQ-2 Pioneer was placed aboard Iowa-class battleships to provide gunnery spotting, its mission evolving into reconnaissance and surveillance, primarily for amphibious forces.
The AAI RQ-7 Shadow is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the United States Army, Australian Army, Swedish Army, and Italian Army for reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and battle damage assessment. Launched from a trailer-mounted pneumatic catapult, it is recovered with the aid of arresting gear similar to jets on an aircraft carrier. Its gimbal-mounted, digitally stabilized, liquid nitrogen-cooled electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) camera relays video in real time via a C-band line-of-sight data link to the ground control station (GCS).
The Alliant RQ-6 Outrider unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was designed to provide near-real-time reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition information to United States Marine Corps air/ground task forces, United States Army brigades, and deployed United States Navy units that was small enough for an entire system to be contained on two Humvees and trailer and transported on a single C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft.
The Sikorsky Cypher and Cypher II are types of unmanned aerial vehicles developed by Sikorsky Aircraft. They are vertical takeoff and landing aircraft which use two opposing rotors enclosed in a circular shroud for propulsion.
The Bateleur is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) prototype designed and built by Denel Dynamics. It has been designed as a MALE UAV, with its primary role being surveillance, with a secondary signals intelligence capability.
The IAI Heron (Machatz-1) is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the Malat (UAV) division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It is capable of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) operations of up to 52 hours' duration at up to 10.5 km (35,000 ft). It has demonstrated 52 hours of continuous flight, but the effective operational maximal flight duration is less, according to payload and flight profile. An advanced version, the Heron TP, is also known as the IAI Eitan.
UAVs include both autonomous drones and remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs). A UAV is capable of controlled, sustained level flight and is powered by a jet, reciprocating, or electric engine. In the twenty first century technology reached a point of sophistication that the UAV is now being given a greatly expanded role in many areas of aviation.
The Yarará project is the first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programme in South America to be produced in series and for export. The system is developed by Nostromo Defensa for surveillance, border patrol and reconnaissance. It was unveiled at the Argentine Air Force Air Show on 10 August 2006. The manufacturer says it has been produced in small series for export to an unidentified government customer in the United States.
The General Atomics ALTUS is an unmanned aerial vehicle, designed for scientific research, built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI).
The BAE Systems Phoenix was an all-weather, day or night, real-time surveillance Unmanned Air Vehicle. It had a twin-boom UAV with a surveillance pod, from which the imagery was data linked to a ground control station (GCS) that also controlled the aircraft in flight. It was the third generation of UAV in British Army service with the Royal Artillery after SD/1 and Canadair Midge.
The BAE Systems HERTI is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the British company BAE Systems. HERTI stands for "High Endurance Rapid Technology Insertion" and was developed in Warton, United Kingdom. The HERTI airframe is based on the J-6 Fregata motor glider designed by Jaroslaw Janowski of J&AS Aero Design, Poland. Its first flight was in December 2004 at the Australian Woomera test range where much of the test flight programme has been undertaken. HERTI was also the first UAV to fly in the UK with the flight being certified by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Karem Aircraft, Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer company with offices in Lake Forest, California; York, Virginia; and Victorville, California, founded in 2004 by Abraham Karem as a rapid development firm specializing in advanced tiltrotor transport aircraft. Karem was the former chief designer for the Israeli Air Force — who built his first drone during 1973's Yom Kippur War — and has been described by The Economist as the man who "created the robotic plane that transformed the way modern warfare is waged — and continues to pioneer other airborne innovations". He emigrated to the United States in the late 1970s.
The Freewing Scorpion is a reconnaissance UAV of unusual design developed in the United States in the early 21st century by a company associated with the University of Maryland, College Park, Freewing Aerial Robotics Corporation. Working with well-known small-aircraft designer Burt Rutan, Freewing designed a series of piston-powered short-takeoff-and-landing UAVs, based on a design where the fuselage pivots relative to the wing surfaces. The "freewing" design also allows the UAV to operate as a stable observation platform during turbulent conditions.
Gjadër Air Base is a military airport located in Gjadër, Lezhë County, Albania. It is north of the city of Lezhë and is also known as Lezhë-Zadrima Air Base.
Kapothaka was a technology demonstrator mini-UAV for reconnaissance. The Kapothaka which means “dove” is believed to be a predecessor of Nishant UAV system.
TAI Pelikan, aka IHA-X2, is a radio-controlled reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition drone. Designed, developed and built by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a half scale model of the tactical drone TAI Baykuş air platform. It was produced as a training and bridge platform to the TAI Baykuş.
The Bayraktar Akıncı is a high-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat air vehicle currently under development with Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar Makina. First pictures of the UAV hit media reports in June 2018. Initial media reports described Akinci as a 4.5 ton UCAV capable of deploying about 1.5 ton payload with an airframe equipped with two turboprop engines.
The TAI Aksungur is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in development by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for the Turkish Armed Forces. Using existing technology from the TAI Anka series of drones, it is the manufacturer's largest drone with payload capacity for mission-specific equipment. It is intended to be used for long-term surveillance, signals intelligence, maritime patrol missions, or as an unmanned combat aerial vehicle. TAI planned to integrate weapon packages and put the Aksungur into production in early 2020.
