U.S. Unmanned Aerial Systems

Abstract

Unmanned aerial systems comprise a rapidly growing portion of the military budget, and have been a long-term interest of Congress. At times, Congress has encouraged the development of such systems; in other instances, it has attempted to rein in or better organize the Department of Defense s efforts. Unmanned aircraft are commonly called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and when combined with ground control stations and data links, form UAS, or unmanned aerial systems. The use of UAS in conflicts such as Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and humanitarian relief operations such as Haiti, revealed the advantages and disadvantages provided by unmanned aircraft. Long considered experimental in military operations, UAS are now making national headlines as they are used in ways normally reserved for manned aircraft. Conventional wisdom states that UAS offer two main advantages over manned aircraft: they are considered more cost effective, and they minimize the risk to a pilot s life. For these reasons and others, DOD s unmanned aircraft inventory increased more than 40-fold from 2002 to 2010.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 03, 2012
Accession Number
ADA566235

Entities

People

  • Jeremiah Gertler

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircraft Industry
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Control Systems
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Ground Control Stations
  • Military Aviation
  • National Security
  • Tanker Aircraft
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Unmanned Systems
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerial Unmanned Vehicle Swarm Micro Periodontal Dentistry.
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs