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 Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is an unmanned (UAV) surveillance aircraft. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical, and known as Tier II+ during development. The Global Hawk performs duties similar to that of the Lockheed U-2. The RQ-4 provides a broad overview and systematic surveillance using high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and long-range electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors with long loiter times over target areas. It can survey as much as 40,000 square miles (100,000 km2) of terrain a day, an area the size of South Korea or Iceland.
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they are involved in operating the aircraft's navigation and engine systems. Other aircrew members, such as flight attendants, mechanics and ground crew, are not classified as aviators.
An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone or simply a drone, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that usually carries aircraft ordnance such as missiles and is used for drone strikes. These drones are usually under real-time human control, with varying levels of autonomy. Aircraft of this type have no onboard human pilot. As the operator runs the vehicle from a remote terminal, equipment necessary for a human pilot are not needed, resulting in a lower weight and a smaller size than a manned aircraft. China, Israel, and the United States are widely recognized as industry leaders in UCAV technology. Several other countries have operational domestic UCAVs and many more have imported armed drones or have development programs under way.
Man-portable air-defense systems are portable surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters.
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 21st century, technology reached a point of sophistication that the UAV is now being given a greatly expanded role in many areas of aviation.
An infrared countermeasure (IRCM) is a device designed to protect aircraft from infrared homing missiles by confusing the missiles' infrared guidance system so that they miss their target. Heat-seeking missiles were responsible for about 80% of air losses in Operation Desert Storm. The most common method of infrared countermeasure is deploying flares, as the heat produced by the flares creates hundreds of targets for the missile.
The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the United States Air Force (USAF). The MQ-9 and other UAVs are referred to as Remotely Piloted Vehicles/Aircraft (RPV/RPA) by the USAF to indicate their human ground controllers.
Civil Aircraft Missile Protection System or CAMPS is an infrared countermeasure against infrared-homed anti-aircraft missiles, specifically designed to defend civilian aircraft flying under 15,000 feet (4,600 m) against MANPADS.
A missile approach warningsystem (MAW) is part of the avionics package on some military aircraft. A sensor detects attacking missiles. Its automatic warning cues the pilot to make a defensive maneuver and deploy the available countermeasures to disrupt missile tracking.
The Vigilant Eagle Airport Protection System is a proposed directed-energy weapon under development by the U.S. military under a Defense Department contract with Raytheon. It would create an invisible microwave dome around an airport that could block missiles heading toward incoming and outgoing aircraft.
The Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by Lockheed Martin and operated by the United States Air Force for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). While the USAF has released few details on the UAV's design or capabilities, defense analysts believe that it is a stealth aircraft fitted with aerial reconnaissance equipment.
On 5 December 2011, an American Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was captured by Iranian forces near the city of Kashmar in northeastern Iran. The Iranian government announced that the UAV was brought down by its cyberwarfare unit which commandeered the aircraft and safely landed it, after initial reports from Western news sources disputedly claimed that it had been "shot down". The United States government initially denied the claims but later President Obama acknowledged that the downed aircraft was a US drone and requested that Iran return it.
The Switchblade is a loitering munition developed by AeroVironment. It is designed as a "kamikaze," being able to crash into its target with an explosive warhead to destroy it. The Switchblade is small enough to be carried in a backpack and can be launched from a variety of ground, maritime, and air platforms.
The Northrop Grumman RQ-180 is an American stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveillance aircraft intended for contested airspace which has been described in several news articles and confirmed by the U.S. Air Force.
The Information Age is generally understood to have arrived with the Internet as it was developed through the 1970s and rolled out throughout the 1980s, and continues evolving to this day. So too the adoption of digital techniques in aviation also arrived progressively at around the same time and also continues today.
As of January 2014, the U.S. military operates a large number of unmanned aerial systems : 7,362 RQ-11 Ravens; 990 AeroVironment Wasp IIIs; 1,137 AeroVironment RQ-20 Pumas; and 306 RQ-16 T-Hawk small UAS systems and 246 Predators and MQ-1C Grey Eagles; 126 MQ-9 Reapers; 491 RQ-7 Shadows; and 33 RQ-4 Global Hawk large systems.
The Orion is a Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by Aurora Flight Sciences.
A loitering munition is a weapon system category in which the munition loiters around the target area for some time, searches for targets, and attacks once a target is located. Loitering munitions enable faster reaction times against concealed or hidden targets that emerge for short periods without placing high-value platforms close to the target area, and also allow more selective targeting as the actual attack mission can be aborted.
