US battlefield UAVs The usefulness of robot aircraft for reconnaissance was demonstrated in Vietnam . At the same time , early steps were being taken to use them in active combat at sea and on land , but battlefield unmanned aerial vehicle s would not come into their own until the 1980s . This chapter covers early United States efforts to acquire a battlefield UAV capability . Battlefield UAV . UAVs , such as the Northrop Falconer , had been developed for battlefield reconnaissance beginning in the 1950s , but these machines saw little or no combat service . As discussed later , the Israel is pioneered the operational use of battlefield UAVs in the early 1980s , during their operations in southern Lebanon . Very few of the technologies they used were all that new , but the Israelis finally achieved the proper formula for operational success , using their battlefield UAVs to help destroy Syrian surface - to - air missile sites and assist in other combat operations . With the successes in southern Lebanon , international interest in battlefield UAVs picked up significantly . During the 1980s , all the major military powers and many of the minor ones acquired a battlefield UAV capability , and continue to expand that capability . These battlefield UAVs fall into two broad categories , which can be designated for convenience as " combat surveillance " and " tactical reconnaissance " UAVs . Combat surveillance UAV . The function of a combat surveillance UAV is to observe events on a battlefield in real time , orbiting over the battle area and relaying intelligence to a ground control station . They are generally powered by small rotary or two - stroke piston " chain saw " engines . They are directed by an autopilot system with RC backup . The autopilot directs the aircraft from sets of waypoint s programmed in before takeoff . The program set up by displaying a map on a workstation , clicking on the desired map coordinates with a mouse , and then downloading the program into the UAV . Navigation is often verified by a GPS - INS navigation system . However , combat surveillance UAVs usually use the autopilot to get to the operating area , with the aircraft then operating by radio control to find targets of opportunity . The need to stay within radio range restricts combat surveillance UAVs to ranges within a line - of - sight of the transmitter . This is usually the determining factor in " range " specifications for such UAVs . For this reason , " endurance " is a more useful specification than " range " . The UAV sensors are generally housed in a turret underneath the aircraft , and almost always feature day - night imagers . The turret may also include a laser designator to allow the UAV to mark targets for smart weapons . Other specialized payloads , such as SIGINT packages , or new lightweight synthetic aperture radar ( SAR ) sensors with all - weather imaging capability , are now being fielded as well . The larger combat surveillance UAVs have landing gear , usually fixed , and can take off and land on an unimproved airstrip , with an arresting hook to snag a cable for short landings . Such UAVs may also be launched by a RATO booster , and recovered by parachute , parasail , or by flying into a net . Smaller combat surveillance UAVs may be launched with a pneumatic , hydraulic , or electric catapult , with the very smallest launched by an elastic - bungee catapult . Tactical reconnaissance UAV . The tactical reconnaissance UAV is usually larger , jet powered , with longer range and higher speed . Like a combat surveillance UAV , it has an autopilot with radio control backup , but it relies more on the autopilot than on radio control , since its primary mission is to fly over predesignated targets out of line of sight , take pictures , and then come home . The tactical reconnaissance UAV will usually not loiter over the battle area , and real - time intelligence is less essential . A tactical reconnaissance UAV usually carries day - night reconnaissance cameras , rather than a sensor turret , though SAR can be carried as well . They are generally launched by RATO booster and recovered by parachute , though they can be launched from aircraft as well . The dividing line between combat surveillance and tactical reconnaissance UAVs , as well as between them and other classes of UAVs , is fuzzy . Some types of UAV may be usable for both missions . The distinction between a combat surveillance UAV and some kinds of " endurance " UAVs , discussed later , and between a tactical reconnaissance and a strategic reconnaissance UAV , as discussed earlier , is also very thin . There are also many variations on themes . The smaller combat surveillance UAVs , in the size range of a large hobbyist RC model plane and used to support military forces at the brigade or battalion level , are sometimes called " mini - UAVs " , and their low cost makes them particularly suitable for " expendable " missions . Such expendable missions might involve carrying a jammer payload into an enemy ' s operational area to disrupt radar and communications , or even being fitted with a radar seeker and a warhead to attack enemy radars . Such an " attack drone " or " harassment UAV " now becomes difficult to logically distinguish from a cruise missile . The DASH Helicopter Drones / SEAMOS . The first operational battlefield UAV developed by the US military was for antisubmarine warfare ( ASW ) . In the early 1960s , the US Navy obtained a small " Drone Anti - Submarine Helicopter " ( DASH ) Gyrodyne QH - 50 that could fly off a frigate or destroyer to carry homing torpedoes or nuclear depth charges for attacks on enemy submarines that were out of range of the ship ' s other weapons . This was a relatively simple requirement , involving a neatly defined mission in a combat environment where presumably nobody would usually be shooting back at the drone , and it seemed achievable with the technology of the time . Gyrodyne Company of Long Island , New York , was awarded the contract to build DASH , and based the design on a one - man helicopter the company had already developed , the " YRON - 1 " . The initial DASH demonstration prototype , designated the " DSN - 1 " , used a Porsche flat - four piston engine with 54 kW ( 72 hp ) , with nine such prototypes built . Initial flights were in the summer of 1961 , at first with a pilot on board , leading up to an unpiloted helicopter flight in August 1961 . A second - generation prototype , the " DSN - 2 " , was powered by two Porsche engines , each with 64 . 5 kW ( 86 hp ) . Three such drones were built , and then led to the production DASH , the " DSN - 3 " , which was powered by a Boeing T50 - BO - 8A turboshaft engine with 225 kW ( 300 shp ) . First flight of the DSN - 3 was also in the summer of 1961 . The US military services adopted a common aircraft designation scheme in 1962 , and the DASH variants were given new designations . The DSN - 1 became the " QH - 50A " , the DSN - 2 became the " QH - 50B " , and the DSN - 3 became the " QH - 50C " . The general configuration of all three of the DASH prototype variants was similar , though the QH - 50C was scaled up , with an empty weight almost twice that of the QH - 50A . The QH - 50C was an ugly little machine that was reminiscent of an insect . It had a frame made of steel tubing , with all machinery directly accessible , and stood on twin skids , with one or two homing torpedoes or nuclear depth charges carried between the skids . It had a coaxial rotor system and a dropdown inverted vee tail . The QH - 50C had a height of 2 . 96 meters ( 9 feet 8 inches ) , a rotor diameter of 6 . 1 meters ( 20 feet ) , and an empty weight of 500 kilograms ( 1 , 100 pounds ) . It was guided solely by radio control , and had neither sensors nor autonomous navigation capability . Combat radius was a modest , which was adequate for its mission . Greater range would not have been very useful , as the DASH flew at low altitude and used a line - of - sight communications link , limiting its range in any case . The US Navy originally ordered 900 QH - 50Cs , but the type suffered from reliability problems , with a quarter of the first batch of 100 lost in crashes . The order was cut to a little over 500 , with final production being the " QH - 50D " variant , with an uprated engine providing 274 kW ( 365 shp ) , fiberglass rotors , and increased fuel capacity . The Japanese Maritime Self - Defense Force also bought a small batch of 16 DASHes in 1968 . The career of the DASH was undistinguished , but it was one of the first drones ever used in a strictly tactical environment , and pointed the way to the future . A small number of DASHes were apparently given reconnaissance gear and used for naval surveillance over the Gulf of Tonkin in 1966 in a project codenamed SNOOPY . In the early 1970s the Air Force evaluated the QH - 50D for a battlefield drone test program codenamed NITE GAZELLE . NITE GAZELLE apparently experimented with using drones to drop bomblets and carry machine guns , but details are unclear , as are reports that the DASH was used in other evaluations as a countermeasures platform . In the 1980s , Aerodyne corporation attempted to sell an updated version of the DASH , designated the " CH - 84 Pegasus " , with an Allison 250 - C20F turboshaft engine and updated electronics . While it appears the Pegasus was not a success , the DASH was resurrected a second time in the 1990s by the German Dornier company , now part of Daimler Chrysler , for the " SEAMOS " naval UAV . SEAMOS . SEAMOS owed much to DASH , and in fact a modified QH - 50D was used as the SEAMOS demonstrator prototype . Like the original DASH , SEAMOS was a coaxial - rotor drone helicopter with twin landing skids , though it was unsurprisingly a more refined system , and in particular even had a real fuselage . SEAMOS was powered by an Allison 250 - C20W turboshaft engine with 315 kW ( 420 shp ) . SEAMOS flight tests were performed with the technology demonstrator in 1991 , leading to a production contract in 1996 and flight tests of a true prototype in 1999 . Service introduction was expected in 2005 , but the program was cancelled in early 2003 , SEAMOS having been judged " overdesigned and too expensive " . The German government put out a request for an off - the - shelf solution , sensibly stating specifications in line with a machine that they could afford . The EADS Orka - 1200 , discussed later , is the prime candidate . EXDRONE . During the Gulf War , the US Marines also used about 60 cheap battlefield mini - UAVs , the " BQM - 174 Exdrone ( Expendable Drone ) " , that were fitted with simple TV camera payloads for battlefield reconnaissance . The Exdrone was built by BAI Aerosystems of Maryland . It was mostly made of styrofoam , balsa wood , and plastics , and was powered by a chainsaw engine . It was a " symmetrical delta " , meaning it didn ' t matter if it flew upside - down , allowing it to offer some protection to its payload when necessary . A later version was called " dragon " . BRAVE 200 . While the Army was floundering with the Aquila , the Air Force was going through its own struggles with the tactical UAV concept . Beginning in the mid - 1970s , the USAF Flight Dynamics Laboratory , working with Teledyne Ryan , developed a piston - powered tactical UAV designated the " XBQM - 26 Teleplane " . A total of 23 were built , in 13 different configurations . It is unclear if there was ever any intent to adopt the XBQM - 26 for operational service , since the program had a strongly experimental flavor , with the different configurations used to evaluate a wide range of possibilities for tactical UAV operations . The program ended in the mid - 1980s . However , the Air Force did conduct a program to obtain an operational tactical UAV , the " Boeing Robotic Air Vehicle ( BRAVE ) 200 " . The BRAVE 200 was intended to be used as an antiradar attack drone , a jamming platform , or for other expendable battlefield missions . The BRAVE 200 was a neat little canard machine , with a span of 2 . 57 meters ( 8 feet 5 inches ) , a length of 2 . 12 meters ( 6 feet 11 inches ) , and a launch weight of 120 kilograms ( 265 pounds ) . It was powered by a 21 kW ( 28 hp ) two - stroke , two - cylinder engine , driving a pusher propeller . The BRAVE 200 had an interesting launch scheme , with 15 of the UAVs stowed in a transport " box " . A drone was shoved out of its cell in the box on an arm , and then launched by a RATO booster . It was recovered by parachute if the mission allowed it be recovered . The BRAVE 200 effort began in 1983 , when the company received a USAF contract to develop an antiradar attack drone , under the designation " YCQM - 121A Pave Tiger " . 14 prototypes were flown in 1983 and 1984 , but the program was cancelled in late 1984 . It did not stay cancelled . In 1987 , the USAF awarded Boeing a contract to develop an improved version of the drone , designated the " YGCM - 121B Seek Spinner " , as a loitering antiradar attack drone . The YGCM - 121B was generally similar to the YCQM but heavier , with a weight of 200 kilograms ( 440 pounds ) . The Air Force also evaluated another variant in the series , designated the " CEM - 138 Pave Cricket " , with a jamming payload . However , both Air Force programs were axed in 1989 . Boeing continued to promote the BRAVE 200 to other customers , and also tried to sell a jet - powered drone , the " BRAVE 3000 " . The BRAVE 3000 resembled a small cruise missile with boxy fuselage , a straight wing that pivoted into launch configuration , cruciform tailfins , a belly fin forward of the wing , and an engine intake under the belly . The BRAVE 3000 also featured a container launch scheme , and had a launch weight of 285 kilograms ( 629 pounds ) with RATO booster . A few prototypes were flown in the mid - 1980s . Nobody bought either the BRAVE 200 or the BRAVE 3000 , and both projects were abandoned . Over a decade later , Boeing would return to the small UAV field by teaming up with the Insitu Group on the ScanEagle UAV , discussed later . Hunter / Sky Owl . With UAV efforts floundering , in the late 1980s the US Congress formed the " Joint Program Office ( JPO ) " to consolidate UAV programs . JPO was a branch of the Naval Air Systems Command , but obtained funding directly from the office of the Secretary of Defense , at the top of the US defense hierarchy . One of the first UAV programs begun by the JPO was the " Short Range UAV " program , which in 1988 selected the Hunter UAV , which was built by Israel Aircraft Industries ( IAI ) in cooperation with TRW . The Hunter first flew in 1991 . It had a general configuration not much different from the Pioneer , except that it was bigger and had twin engines , consisting of two 45 kW ( 60 hp ) Moto - Guzzi piston engines arranged in on both ends of center fuselage in a " push - me - pull - you " configuration . It had a turret with a TV / FLIR imager mounted on the belly . The original plan was to acquire 50 Hunter battlefield observation systems , with four aircraft and ground control gear in each system , for a total of $ 1 . 6 billion USD . The aircraft was given the Army designation of " BQM - 155A " . Initial evaluation determined that the Hunter ' s range was inadequate , its data link was unsatisfactory , and the aircraft was too big to fit into the transport aircraft defined in the original specification . Despite these deficiencies , a low rate initial production ( LRIP ) contract for seven systems at a price of $ 171 million USD was placed in 1993 . Further evaluation of the Hunter based on these seven systems demonstrated more shortcomings in the UAV ' s software , data link , and engine . As the Hunter ' s defects were gradually uncovered , price continued to rise , and by 1996 the Army was faced with paying over $ 2 billion USD for 52 Hunter systems . Hunter was cancelled . By the time of its cancellation , 20 Hunters had been lost in crashes . The cancellation of the Hunter program did not mean that the Hunters in service were discarded , and in fact they proved surprisingly useful and were even sent on operational missions . The Hunters were employed by the US Army , Air Force , and Navy on experimental programs ; provided training in the development of operational concepts for the day when a more effective UAV system was available ; and evaluated use of UAVs for communications relay and electronic warfare ( EW ) missions . In the spring of 1999 , eight surviving Hunters , redesignated " RQ - 5A " , were sent to Albania to support OPERATION ALLIED FORCE , the NATO air campaign against Serbia . The Hunters were flown out of Macedonia , and were able to provide real - time video to senior officers directing ALLIED FORCE , with the video relayed through a ground station , then through a satellite to the US , and finally distributed to end users . NATO commander Wesley Clark used the video feeds and on a few occasions contacted the Hunter operations team directly . The operations team also could adjust their missions in real time in response to inputs from the ALLIED FORCE air operations headquarters . The Hunters flew 281 sorties during ALLIED FORCE . They spotted targets such as air defense radars , artillery , and missile launchers , and usually stayed on station during attacks to perform post - strike damage assessment . The Hunters were able to operate much lower than manned aircraft , which were restricted to minimum safe operating altitudes . Two Hunters were damaged and sent back to the US for repair , one flew into a mountain , and five were lost in action , apparently shot down . The operations team received six replacements . In fact , the Hunter has proven so useful that the Army plans to buy more of them , suggesting that reports of its death in 1996 were greatly exaggerated . In 2002 , the Army performed experiments with the Hunter in which it was used to drop " Brilliant Antiarmor Munitions ( BATs ) " , a " smart " antitank glide weapon that features an acoustic / infrared seeker , as an experiment towards introduction of a more formal armed UAV system for the Army . A test drop of four BATs performed in early October 2002 scored three direct hits on armored vehicle targets , with one of the three blowing the turret off the tank it struck . In late March 2003 , a Hunter also performed drops of a BAT derivative named " Viper Strike " that was fitted with a laser seeker , with nine drops resulting in seven hits . The Army would like to evaluate other munitions , such as the Hellfire antitank missile , on the Hunter . The Air Force is supposed to provide fixed - wing battlefield air close support for the Army , but the Army has always wanted to have air close support assets of its own , and apparently sees the armed Hunter as a way of skirting around the USAF charter . Hunters served in the US invasion of Iraq in the spring of 2003 and the subsequent occupation of the country . By the summer of 2004 , the type had achieved a total of 30 , 000 flight hours in US Army service , not bad for an aircraft that was formally " canned " . The Army is trying to find funds to buy 14 more Hunters . Since the original Moto - Guzzi engine fitted to the Hunter is no longer in production , this new batch will use a new heavy - fuel engine , and will also feature a number of other improvements . OUTRIDER . Although the Hunter proved very useful almost in spite of itself , the Army still needed a formal operational battlefield UAV system . In 1996 , on the cancellation of the Hunter , the Army went through its third attempt to procure a battlefield UAV with the Alliant Techsystems Outrider . The Outrider was based on the Mission Technologies " Hellfox " UAV , which had flown the year before . The Outrider was a relatively small battlefield UAV that featured an unusual " dual wing " , meaning it was a biplane with the wings staggered and joined at the ends . It was powered by a four - cylinder piston engine driving a pusher propeller , had fixed landing gear , and a pancake - shaped data link antenna on its back . The Outrider was another fiasco . The military demanded a wide range of major changes to the Hellfox , such changing airframe construction from composites to aluminum , and the effort never managed to converge to a solution . After continuous problems and a failure to meet specifications , the Outrider was cancelled in 1999 , the same year it was formally designated the " RQ - 6A " . While it is difficult to understand why the Army had such difficulty obtaining what would seem to be a relatively simple technology , part of the problem seems to be specsmanship . The Israelis were able to make use of battlefield UAVs quickly because they had simple requirements . The weather in the Middle East is generally hot , sunny , and clear , and the Israelis have a relatively fixed set of adversaries who mostly live right on their border . In contrast , the US Army may be forced to operate almost anywhere and against anyone , meaning that a system that would be satisfactory to the Israelis would not be adequate for the US Army . The US Army necessarily had more demanding specifications . This was unavoidable , but it also opened the door to adding ever more specifications , a bureaucratic process known as " feature creep " that can squeeze the life out a project . Along with over - specification , there seems to have been a degree of bumbling as well . The seeming simplicity of a UAV is misleading . Studies of the difficulties encountered in Army UAV programs indicate that participants tended to underestimate the complexity of a UAV system , starting out thinking that UAVs are little more than glorified RC model airplanes , and then were overwhelmed as problems mounted . On the other hand , some defense engineers approached UAVs with the same mindset as they would use for building a piloted aircraft , causing costs to skyrocket . There also seems to have been problems from interservice squabbling and Congressional micromanagement . After the development contract was awarded , the Pentagon decided that Outrider had to meet both Army and Navy requirements . This meant increasing the UAV ' s range by a factor of four , to allow ships to see targets over the horizon , and specifying an engine that ran on diesel fuel , not gasoline , which is too flammable to store on a naval vessel except when the need absolutely demands it . The engine effort was a fiasco . US Navy UAV efforts seem to have gone better partly because of high - level interest in the project . The original Navy request that resulted in procurement of the Pioneer UAV was a personal initiative of Navy Undersecretary John Lehman . Not only does having such a prominent patron eliminate obstacles , it also encourages program officials to greater efforts , since they know their actions have high - level visibility . The Army efforts , in contrast , have often lacked patrons or high - level commitment . However , it should also be noted that the Navy has been criticised for becoming involved with programs like Outrider , changing the requirements drastically to fit their needs , and then walking off . In addition , the Navy ' s long and difficult search for an antiship missile target , discussed earlier , suggests that the Army has no particular copyright on bumbling . Further consideration of the matter leads into a tangle of bureaucracy best avoided . References . This article contains material that originally came from the web article " Unmanned Aerial Vehicles " by Greg Goebel , which exists in the Public Domain .