Nowadays, drones are extensively used by the United States military. They have been in existence since the Second World War, but it was during the Gulf War that their use became prominent. Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles, usually called a remotely piloted vehicle or an autonomous aerial vehicle, easily controlled by a remote user. UAVs are part of an unoperated aerial system, which comprise also a ground-based control unit and a network of communications with the UAV
The chief benefit of UAVs over traditional manned aircraft is the extreme versatility. Drones can be used for a wide range of surveillance and military applications. They can operate either indoors or outdoors, making them ideal for searching a location with a high level of uncertainty. In addition, they can stay in one place and continually transmit data to an area from which information can be obtained or analyzed. This allows for real-time surveillance and military action without requiring a great deal of personnel.
UAVs can also be armed and loaded with sensors for military applications. A UAV is capable of transmitting and receiving information from a variety of sensors. Some of these sensors are infra-red for military applications, such as radar and laser sensors. Other sensors can be used on the ground for surveillance. The information transmitted by the UAV is typically received through its internal rechargeable battery or its web feed.
Agriculture is another field where UAVs can be very useful. While they cannot do as much surveillance as the military, farmers can use UAVs to help them gather information about crops, soil, and insects. This information, in turn, can be fed into crop models and fertilizer programs to improve the yield of the area.
While there are many uses for UAVs in the civilian world, the most common uses are for surveillance and offense. The UAV can be fitted with an imaging device that can take-off and land on a moving vehicle without further damage. This is a particularly useful capability for small UAVs that do not take-off from an aircraft stand-up platform. In this way, a UAV can move forward and land on a moving vehicle while remaining within visual range of the camera or other system installed on the vehicle. This is a great capability that makes it possible to take-off a UAV, view the area and know if it needs any additional help.
The UAV can also be fitted with heat-seeking missiles. The heat-seeking missile, often called a UAV hunter, will fly alongside a UAV and try to shoot down the target. The UAV will then maneuver and return to the UAV hunter, where it will either crash or be destroyed. While this may sound dangerous, the UAVs with heat-seeking missiles are capable of doing incredible speeds, well out-performing their human-piloted competitors. This means an attacker will have a very long period of time to capture the target or deny him access to valuable data, before the United States’ drones arrive to provide assistance.
The UAVs fitted with GPS systems have another advantage over traditional remote-landing vehicles. It is possible to determine the exact location of the target and then use that information to attack and take-down the target. While the majority of UAVs can stay within visual range of their GPS systems, they are still unable to maneuver at high speeds, meaning they may have problems staying on course and avoiding collisions with other aircraft, as well as other UAVs and objects on the ground.
The use of UAVs by the military and the Drug industry has increased in use over the past decade. However, UAV technology still has a long way to go before it can successfully autonomously deliver weapons and supplies to battle-fields from remote locations. Even if an enemy sensor detects an unmanned aerial vehicle, or an object of interest, it will not be able to engage the vehicle unless it is able to lock-in the target using one of the many UAV sensors available. For now, UAVs must remain very vigilant, always being monitored by humans in order to avoid mishaps.
