History of UAVs and Their Applications

Technology plays a central role in modern combat with the most powerful militaries employing the most recent technologies to run their logistical as well intelligence operations. At the heart of every military is the quality and scale of information available pertaining the caliber of enemies to be engaged, war tactics used and their patterns of movement? Technology differentiates a powerful world class military with enhanced capabilities as opposed to conventional combat warfare tactics that involved ground troops that faced a myriad of problems from logistical quagmires to heavy loses of human lives. 

The advent of modern technology has helped militaries world over to collect quality information about target enemy geographical location, capabilities as well as target elimination methods employable to finish off such targets without much risks. One such technology is the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in military operations 

An unmanned aerial vehicle is a powered aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator in it during flight 1 . UAVs have inbuilt aerodynamic systems that gives them the required lift to fly autonomously in space or be piloted from a ground station and can be recoverable if need be. UAVs involve a complex structured provision for operations and targeting of enemy objects complete with people in a ground station that relies on cameras and signals for relaying of operational communication information hence the term unmanned aerial vehicle system. 

The term drone is also used to describe UAVs. However a UAV does not necessarily mean a drone. Many UAVs are automated machines and can execute attack missions but still depend on human crew stationed somewhere. On the contrary, drones have the capability to operate without any human intervention. Drones can take off, execute missions and land on their own capabilities. Missiles are neither drones nor UAVs because their components are weapon material that cannot be retrieved once delivered however remotely guided they may be. 

UAVs can be classified on the basis of size, range/altitude and speed. On the basis of size, there are very small UAVs whose size resembles that of a large insect, small UAVs also known as mini-UAVs have one of their structural dimensions larger than 50cm and the other dimension not exceeding 2 meters. 

Medium UAVs refers to those UAVs which are heavy to be carried by a single person but are smaller compared to light aircraft. Their wingspan measures about 5m-10m and are capable of carrying payloads of between 100-200 kilograms. Examples of medium UAVs include the Israel-US hunter and the UK watchkeeper. Other UAVs of this class include the RQ-5A hunter, Skyeye R4E, Pioneer and the US Boeing eye eagle. Large UAVs are mainly used in intensive combat missions carried out by the military. Examples of large UAVs are the US Northrop Grumman Global Hawk and US general predator A &B. 

In terms of range, we have close range UAVs which operate within 5 kilometers, close range UAVs which operate within a range of 50km and whose endurance is between 1-6 hours, short range UAVs with a range of 150km and an endurance of 8-12 hours, mid-range UAVs with high speeds and operating radius of 650 kilometers and finally endurance UAVs which can work within a radius of 300 kilometers and fly to altitudes of 3000 feet. 

Tactical UAVs are highly sophisticated combat vehicles that have enhanced surveillance and attack capabilities in military operations. Tactical UAVs comprise high-tech equipment that makes them highly adapted to superior flight control, precise navigation and observation systems, embedded support electronics and high quality signal transmission between ground troops and command centers 2 . Their ease of deployment and target evaluation they provide makes them suitable for long endurance missions in rugged and extensive geographical areas. 

The US Department of Defense utilizes different categories of UAVs with increasing capabilities for operational, tactical and strategic operations. Each group has a maximum weight, designated altitude and a top speed. 3 Group 1 comprises of UAVs with a maximum weight of between 0-20 megatons, an operating altitude of less than 1200 feet and a top speed of 100 knots. UAVs in this group include the RQ-11 Raven and WASP. Group 2 comprises of UAVs bearing a maximum weight of 21-55 megatons, an operational altitude not exceeding 3500 feet and a top speed of less than 250 knots. UAVs in this group include the ScanEagle and Flexrotor. Group 3 is made up of UAVs with a maximum weight of less than 1320 megatons and can fly at 180 FL but with a speed of less than 250 knots. One UAV that falls within this third group is the Arcturus T-20. Groups 4 and 5 comprises of UAVs with weight exceeding 1320 megatons and an operational altitude of more than 180 FL but can cruise at any speed of choice. Examples of UAVs in these groups are the Predator, Grey Eagle and the Reaper. 

History of UAVs 

The history of UAVs dates back to July 1849 when the first unmanned aerial vehicle was used in warfare as a balloon carrier in air-power. Austrian armed forces besieged Venice and attempted to launch 200 balloons directed at the city of Venice. The balloons were successfully launched from the mainland and some from the Austrian warship. One bomb detonated in the city. However, because of excess wind changing direction after the launch, a significant number of balloons missed their targets hence drifted backwards towards the Austrian warship where they had been launched from. 

Thereafter, the first UAV inventions started emerging in the 1900s with their primary purpose being practice targets during military personnel training. The development continued through to World War 1 when Dayton-Wright Airplane Company constructed an unmanned aerial torpedo which would detonate at predetermined time. 

In 1916, the first powered UAV called A.M Lows aerial target surfaced. It was later confirmed that on 21 st march using a radio system, Geoffrey de Havilland’s monoplane had flown under control. In 1915, Nikola Tesla had attempted to describe a fleet of crewless combat vehicles. The World War 1 aftermath heralded great advancements in creation of more reliable UAVs as militaries endeavored to avert causalities arising from loss of highly skilled human personnel. With this new dawn came the Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane in 1917 and the RAE Larynx in 1927. These milestone innovations then inspired the invention of the Kettering Bug by Charles Kettering. This Kettering Bug was a crewless plane capable of carrying an explosive payload and deliver it at a preset target. 

Many more UAV creations emerged after World War II as militaries world over used the pilotless aircrafts for training antiaircraft staff and expedite fine-tuned attack missions. The Nazis of German produced and utilized several UAVs that were powered by a jet engine during World War II. Even after the war was over, advancements on the already existing models continued incorporating television/ radio command signal and guidance. However, UAVs created as at this time were more or less like remote-controlled aircrafts until the Vietnam War occurred. 

As at 1959, the US Air Force, out of dire concern about loss of limited human pilots in hostile enemy territory commenced the use of unmanned aircrafts. The situation was made worse when the soviet union felled a U-2 in 1960 thereby giving way to a highly sanctioned UAV production program that was code-named “Red Wagon”. After an August 1964 clash between the US naval units and the Vietnamese navy, America instituted a highly secretive UAV program that birthed the Lockheed D-21, Ryan Model 147 and the Ryan AQM-91 Firefly into their very initial combat tasks in the Vietnam War. Afterwards, a major drawback to the US UAVs use in combat mission emerged when Chinese government officials displayed photographs of downed US UAVs eliciting a “no comment “response from the US government. 

During the Attrition war of 1967-1970, the very first tactical UAVs equipped with reconnaissance cameras were tried and deployed in the Suez Canal 4 . This marked the first success in utilization of tactical UAVs capable of launching and smoothly landing on short runways unlike the bulky jet-based UAVs. In the 1973 Yom Kippur war, Israel utilized UAVs as decoys to trick enemy forces into wasting valuable anti-aircraft missiles. Later after this war, very resourceful technocrats that had participated in the UAV development joined a startup company for the soul purpose of commercializing UAV production. This led to the development of the first Israeli UAV. 

In 1973, the US military ascertained the use of UAVs in the Vietnam War. A military report indicated the US air force had lost over 5,000 airmen while 1000 remained missing and unaccounted for. Military commanders would later justify use of UAVs saying the only reason was that they wouldn’t want to expend the cockpit crew. The drones were tasked to do the high-risk flying as this would eventually save more human lives on their end. 

In 1973 war, the Soviet Union availed surface-to-air-missile batteries in Syria and Egypt thereby causing significant destruction on Israeli fighter jets. For this reason, Israel made and commissioned its first UAV that incorporated real-time surveillance. The radar decoys and images provided by these UAVs would later assist Israel to neutralize Syrian air defenses at the onset of the Lebanon war. In 1987, UAVs served as evidence of concept of high speed in flight-combat simulations using stealth-technology based, tailless, flight control, three-dimensional thrust UAVs in Israel. 

With the installation of sophisticated technologies in the 1980s through to 1990s, there has been more interest in UAVs within the higher ranks of the United States army. In the 1990s, the US department of defense contracted AAI Corporation alongside Israeli company Malat. Later, the US navy purchased the AAI pioneer UAV jointly developed by Malat and AAI. Many of these UAVs actively served in the Gulf War of 1991. UAVs continue to demonstrate as more capable fighting machines which are cheaper and are deployable without great risk to aircraft crews. By 2013 more than 50 countries utilized UAVs. Israel, Iran, china, Pakistan, among others designed and built locally assembled UAVs. 

How the intelligence community uses UAVs 

The intelligence community world over has continued to rely on UAVs for multiple uses in their tactical, operational and strategic operations. With the globe evolving into a more complex and volatile environment which might be too dangerous to commission human personnel, the use of UAVs has placed more emphasis on signal intelligence to provide militaries with a wide range of knowledge pertaining dangerous actors and potentially lethal threats. Modern technology allows the military to forego human intelligence that puts the lives of operators and spies at great risk, and instead invest in aerial systems that avail a wide range of intelligence information. Unmanned aerial vehicles come in handy for intelligence organizations as they provide real time intelligence information through signals and imaging. 

The United States continues to invest heavy budget amounts in UAV development programs. The army has huge funs allocations for purchase of additional Grey eagle drones and the remotely piloted grey reaper. The continued wars in Iraq, Yemen and Syria as well as operations in parts of Afghanistan necessitate the US Air force to procure UAVs for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance purposes. 

  Advanced unmanned systems and satellites have replaced soldiers and allowed covert organizations to avoid human intelligence, or use human intelligence in minimal ways. The reaper and predator drones comprise of electronic intelligence warning systems, electro-optical and infrared sensors and a real-time feeds and communications equipment among other powerful features which are not offered by human intelligence. Also, UAVs can loiter around a target and operate long hours unlike human intelligence with short endurance capabilities. UAVs are also capable of penetrating through cloud cover and even walls. 

The Growler, an attack-strike aircraft capable of supersonic speeds is fitted with sensors that are capable of intercepting frequencies from cell phones and radars. If two individuals are conversing in a combat zone, the discussion is picked up quickly and two adjacent Growlers can measure transmission times hence pinpoint a specific location where a target could be located. 

The F-35 is a joint strike fighter jet is a sophisticated piece of defense equipment capable of jamming enemy radars and suppressing communication. The information captured can then be shared with units at sea, air or on land. 

UAVs have become the ultimate choice of many militaries in executing mass destruction. They have been enhanced not only to deliver nuclear payloads but also chemical and biological weapons. UAV swarms are being deployed successfully in combat to deliver nuclear weapons without jeopardizing lives of pilots. There are significant advantages that accrues to a swarm of UAVs as they can deliver warheads to targets while simultaneously prevent successful delivery and mitigate against delivery consequences. 

Components of a swarm of UAVs can communicate with each other while in active combat missions. Such communication allows lets individual UAVs adjust their maneuvering patterns in response to real-time information signals relayed. UAVs that are equipped with environmental sensors and cameras are able to identify environmental hazards, potential targets or enemy defenses and relay the same information to the rest of UAVs in a swarm. This further enhances their maneuvering to avoid hazards such as other attack UAVs. Real-time information suits UAV swarms for search and rescue missions over broad areas as they can team up in coordinating research and rescue missions. 

Besides these uses, UAVs offer advanced methodologies in breaking enemy nuclear delivery systems. They can serve as novel missile defenses even against hypersonic missiles. Many cheap simple UAVs can be stationed to form a dorm around a high value target. This would mean that for any incoming attack missiles, they would first have to hit the dome of UAVs before even reaching their target. Such UAVs can also serve as air mines and explode in the vicinity of oncoming fighter bombers. In such a case, even the smallest of UAVs can have very significant impact on a bombers body. This is especially effective for low-flying targets as the airspace to be covered is less and short-range drones are most suited for this acts. Additionally, swarms of surface, undersea or aerial UAVs can be effectively deployed to search the ocean for enemy submarines. The UAVs can locate, relay crucial information about these submarines and launch damaging attacks on them. 

Non-military uses of UAVs 

Besides military uses, UAVs have proved useful in other areas of human lives. UAVs have become useful in a number of unimaginable ways including: 

Transportation of medical equipment and medicines. 

Since UAVs are generally faster compared to conventional helicopters, UAVs have become ideal for carrying vaccines, blood and small sets of equipment to remote or otherwise unreachable areas. Vanuatu was the first nation to commence usage of UAVs to ferry vaccines to its remote areas. Norway also started utilization of UAVs in emergency situations to bring defibrillators to emergency scenes. Rwanda also is using drones to deliver blood, vaccines and medicines to remote areas of the country. The South African national blood service is in plans to start using UAVs in deliver of blood samples to remote areas for blood transfusion needs. This timely delivery of medicines, vaccines, blood and medical equipment not improves efficiency in handling medical emergency situations but also goes a long way in saving human lives. 

Disaster assessment 

UAVs have become the ultimate equipment of choice for use in disaster assessment since they are fast and inexpensive 5 . UAVs are also able to obtain real time high quality images in natural disaster situations hence give emergency response teams the right information for appropriate response action to be initiated. In Haiti in 2012, the International Organization for Migration deployed drones to carry out assessment tasks in the aftermath of Hurricane sandy. When drones were used, a full analysis specifying destroyed and damaged housing units was available in only four days after occurrence of the disaster compared to a request of satellite images from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research Operational Satellite Applications which availed the information a week after the drone analysis. Besides the advantage of speed, drones provide clearer images compared to satellite images since drones can fly to heights below cloud cover, thereby enabling drones capture information that a satellite could miss out on due to obstruction from clouds. 

Containment of wild fires 

Wildfires pose an environmental hazard to both animal and human life. At the same time, firefighting can be a dangerous and highly exhausting mission as people could die while in line of duty. Recently, California has used UAVs to help firefighting missions from the skies . Aerial firefighting is not entirely a new concept, helicopters and planes in the past were manned by human crew further jeopardizing firefighting as planes and helicopters could crash leading to further destruction of the environment and loss of human lives 6 . UAVs proved safer for firefighting since they are not limited by environmental conditions like wind and fog and have longer endurance time than helicopters and planes. 

Tracking malaria spreading mosquitoes 

Peru has a high prevalence of malaria causing mosquitoes. In 2019, UAVs were used to identify water bodies that contained mosquito larvae in the amazons of Peru. Availability of this information enabled scientists to control mosquito populations in these identified water bodies hence effectively bring malaria transmission under control. 

Availing internet access to remote areas. 

In 2016, Facebook rolled out a plan to use drones to enhance internet access to communities living in remote areas. In use was the Aquila drone 7 . The drone operated using solar energy and was capable of flying at an altitude of 60,000 feet above sea level effectively bringing isolated regions and people within internet coverage. Although Facebook abandoned this project in 2018, similar projects have been undertaken by companies like Airbus. 

Photography 

Drones are now being used extensively by event organizers to capture high quality images of events. Recording companies are also utilizing drones in videography and live event coverage and transmission 8 . The UAVs used here are usually small in size and have a shorter range. They are fitted with high quality cameras and video recorders and hover just above the main event transmitting live coverage to personal devices and multimedia screens and audiences. They have helped event management as they require little expenses to operate. Some entrepreneurs have delved into providing drone leasing services to make profits and earn a living. 

Migration monitoring 

The recent upsurge of illegal and undocumented immigrants crossing over the Mediterranean Sea into Europe has seen the deployment of medium range long endurance drones to monitor coastlines and provide real time information to coast guard authorities. The authorities can then engage relevant stake holders and prevent such dangerous voyages over the sea thereby avoiding loss of human lives. 

Drug trafficking and smuggling activities are also monitored using drones. Sometimes terrorist insurgents disguised as genuine refugees could end up in Europe thereby setting a major blow to counter-terrorism efforts around the globe. The EU in particular continues to apportion significant amounts of funds from its budget to finance border patrol and policing activities thereby putting financial pressure on governments of member states. UAVs have cost advantages when deployed for such missions as they bring down the costs of border surveillance and control. 

As many countries around the globe strive to empower their militaries and equip them with modern sophisticated combat equipment, drones have come in handy as the ultimate weapon of choice for allies and enemies. The rush for acquisition of unmanned combat aerial vehicles has seen countries with no capacity to develop the technologies purchase such equipment from china and allied nations. North Korea, an ally of china boasts of the Raytheon drone which is being advanced to deliver long range missiles and nuclear warheads. Iran managed to unveil its first combat drone called the karrar in the year 2010 and has continued its advancement and proliferation across the Middle East. In 2011, Iran captured a US states Lockheed Martin RQ-170 drone and commenced a program to steal US stealth technology as well as infiltrating unencrypted computer systems of US drones thereby enabling Iranian forces to take control of US drones. The US continues to enjoy military partnerships in drone development with allies such as Israel and the United Kingdom. 

Even as the proliferation of UAVs continues around the globe, there is scanty information on the development of unmanned combat aerial vehicles as these entail highly classified information kept as national security secrets. US became the first country to use an armed drone in combat missions. To date there are over 28 countries with armed UAVs with the United states, Israel, United Kingdom, Russia, Iran, Turkey , Italy, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Nigeria on the list. The most cutting edge and current UAVs are found in USA, China and Israel 9 . It goes without say that artificial intelligence forms the backbone of any strong militaries around the globe and it remains critical to continuously evaluate the impact of UAV- related industries in the international market. With ever changing technologies, countries continue the production of unmanned aerial vehicles with top notch capabilities for enhancement of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions for their militaries. Continued enhancement of UAV technology through research implies that nations have to continually support their UAV programs with huge budget allocations to be able to develop their current UAVs into superior products. Companies in the UAV industries also continue to modify and diversify their UAVs with multiple capabilities that make UAVs capable of a wide range of uses in different sectors. It is evident that future military combat missions will revolve around UAVs and nations with the best UAV technology will carry the day in artificial intelligence and combat operations. 

References 

Breckenridge, R. P., and Maxine E. Dakins. 2007. Improving Rangeland Monitoring and Assessment: Integrating Remote Sensing, GIS, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems . 

Carapezza, Edward M. 2004. Unattended/Unmanned Ground, Ocean, and Air Sensor Technologies and Applications VI . Bellingham, WA: SPIE. 

Jia, Niping, Zhiwei Yang, and Kewei Yang. 2019. “An Operational Effectiveness Evaluation Method of the Swarming UAVs Air Combat System.” MATEC Web of Conferences 277: 02010. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201927702010. 

Keyworth, S., and S. Wolfe. 2013. “UAVS for Land Use Applications.” IET Seminar on UAVs in the Civilian Airspace . https://doi.org/10.1049/ic.2013.0071. 

Peng, Xiaodong, and Yu Zhang. 2017. “Location Predicting Methods for UAVs.” https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4992926. 

Sanford, Ronald. 2015. All about Drones: the History, Technology and Future of UAVs . Raleigh, NC: Lulu.com. 

Shannon, Kelly J. 2019. “Iran-US Relations.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History . https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.013.501. 

Smith, Colin. 2016. The Photographer's Guide to Drones . San Rafael, CA: Rocky Nook. 

Thelwell, Kim. 2019. “5 Ways Non-Military Drones Help People Globally.” The Borgen Project. Kim Thelwell https://borgenproject.org/wp-content/uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.jpg. July 23, 2019. https://borgenproject.org/non-military-drones/. 

Thompson, Tamara. 2016. Drones . Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. 

Walker, Jon. 2019. “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) - Comparing the USA, Israel, and China.” Emerj. Emerj. February 3, 2019. https://emerj.com/ai-sector-overviews/unmanned-aerial-vehicles-uavs/. 

Yenne, Bill. 2010. Birds of Prey: Predators, Reapers and America's Newest UAVs in Combat . North Branch, MN: Specialty Press. 

1 Thompson, Tamara. 2016. Drones . Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning

2 Breckenridge, R. P., and Maxine E. Dakins. 2007. Improving Rangeland Monitoring and Assessment: Integrating Remote Sensing, GIS, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems .

3 Yenne, Bill. 2010. Birds of Prey: Predators, Reapers and America's Newest UAVs in Combat . North Branch, MN: Specialty Press.

4 Carapezza, Edward M. 2004. Unattended/Unmanned Ground, Ocean, and Air Sensor Technologies and Applications VI . Bellingham, WA: SPIE.

5 Thelwell, Kim. 2019. “5 Ways Non-Military Drones Help People Globally.” The Borgen Project. Kim Thelwell https://borgenproject.org/wp-content/uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.jpg. July 23, 2019. https://borgenproject.org/non-military-drones/.

6 Thelwell, Kim. 2019. “5 Ways Non-Military Drones Help People Globally.” The Borgen Project. Kim Thelwell https://borgenproject.org/wp-content/uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.jpg. July 23, 2019. https://borgenproject.org/non-military-drones/.

7 Keyworth, S., and S. Wolfe. 2013. “UAVS for Land Use Applications.” IET Seminar on UAVs in the Civilian Airspace . https://doi.org/10.1049/ic.2013.0071.

8 Smith, Colin. 2016. The Photographer's Guide to Drones . San Rafael, CA: Rocky Nook.

9 Walker, Jon. 2019. “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) - Comparing the USA, Israel, and China.” Emerj. Emerj. February 3, 2019. https://emerj.com/ai-sector-overviews/unmanned-aerial-vehicles-uavs/.