Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress

By Bone, Elizabeth

Book Id: WPLBN0000110500
Format Type: PDF eBook
File Size: 2.1 MB
Reproduction Date: 2008

Title:	Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress
Author:	Bone, Elizabeth
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Government publications, Legislation., Government Printing Office (U.S.)
Collections:	Government Library Collection
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	Government Printing Office


Citation APA MLA Chicago Bone, E. (n.d.). Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress. Retrieved from http://self.gutenberg.org/

Excerpt
Excerpt: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been referred to in many ways: RPVs (remotely piloted vehicle), drones, robot planes, and pilotless aircraft are a few such names. Most often called UAVs, they are defined by the Department of Defense (DOD) as powered, aerial vehicles that do not carry a human operator, use aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, can be expendable or recoverable, and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload. Ballistic or semiballistic vehicles, cruise missiles, and artillery projectiles are not considered UAVs by the DOD definition. UAVs differ from RPVs in that some UAVs can fly autonomously. UAVs are either described as a single air vehicle (with associated surveillance sensors), or a UAV system, which usually con...

Table of Contents
Contents Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Congressional Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Pace, Scope, and Management of DOD Efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 UAVs and Investment Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 UAV Roles and Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Industrial Base Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Current DOD UAV Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Operational UAVs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 MQ-1 Predator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 RQ-2 Pioneer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 RQ-5 Hunter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 RQ-7 Shadow 200 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 FQM-151 Pointer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Developmental UAVs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 RQ-4 Global Hawk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 UCAV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical UAV (VTUAV) . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Dragon Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Dragon Warrior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 A-160 Hummingbird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Scan Eagle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Eagle Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 UCAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Force Protection Aerial Surveillance System (FPASS) . . . . . . . . . . . . 48