UAV stands for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. An alternative term is UAS (Unmanned Aerial System). The use of the word “System” is intended to convey the fact that there’s more than just a vehicle involved: there’s also a trained operator and a computer on the ground. More recently, the terms RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) and RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) have begun to be used, and will probably become standard terminology.