Innovations in drone technology

The modern unmanned aerial vehicle in the U.S. can track its roots back to the Civil War and has been heavily influenced by innovations in Israel.

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In this May 1862 photo from the Library of Congress, the Union balloon Intrepid, the largest used in the Civil War, is inflated in Virginia. The balloons, manned by Confederate and Union aeronauts, floated above a field of battle. The first time that warring armies sent their air ships aloft simultaneously over U.S. soil was on June 27, 1862, when two Union balloons — the Intrepid and the Washington — floated a few miles west of Richmond while their Southern counterpart, Gazelle, floated over the capital of the Confederacy. The balloons have been cited as among the earliest predecessors of the modern drone.

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<a data-xslt='_http' href='http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA452037'>Operation Aphrodite</a> was among the landmark moments in the evolution of the drone. A failure of a mission, Aphrodite, entailed using war-weary, remote-controlled B-17 bombers as precision-guided missiles to sink German bomb-resistant targets. The crafts needed to be manned as they took off, handed over to remote control via radio link before the pilot eventually bailed out. On one Operation Aphrodite mission, President John F. Kennedy lost his older brother Lt. Joseph Kennedy Jr. when his bomber exploded after take-off. In this photo, B-17 United States army bombers drone across Selfridge Field, Mich., on Aug. 7, 1942, on the last day of air maneuvers.

Operation Aphrodite was among the landmark moments in the evolution of the drone. A failure of a mission, Aphrodite, entailed using war-weary, remote-controlled B-17 bombers as precision-guided missiles to sink German bomb-resistant targets. The crafts needed to be manned as they took off, handed over to remote control via radio link before the pilot eventually bailed out. On one Operation Aphrodite mission, President John F. Kennedy lost his older brother Lt. Joseph Kennedy Jr. when his bomber exploded after take-off. In this photo, B-17 United States army bombers drone across Selfridge Field, Mich., on Aug. 7, 1942, on the last day of air maneuvers.

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This undated photo provided by the Richard Heyser private collection shows Richard “Steve” Heyser standing next a U-2 spy plane while stationed at Laughlin Air Force Base, Tex. Heyser took the first photos showing Soviet ballistic missile sites in Cuba on Oct. 14, 1962, setting off the Cuban Missile Crisis. The U-2 spy plane, while manned, was an integral part of drone evolution. The sensors in the Global Hawk, which currently flies over Afghanistan, has sensors that harken back to the U-2 spy plane.

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U.S. soldiers prepare the Hunter RQ-5 Alpha unmanned aerial vehicle for take off from the U.S. base at Macedonia’s Skopje airport on Aug. 21 2001. The Hunter, originally developed in the late 1980s, was deployed during the U.S. mission in Kosovo. The success of that mission led to its being used in Iraq. It has also been used in border patrol duties by the Department of Homeland Security.

Srdjan Ilic / AP

In the wake of the Gulf War, the military began to place a much higher value on UAV technology. This reevaluation resulted in a push to develop new, more effective drones. The Predator drone was among the most high-profile successes. Predator started as an Advanced Concept Technology project — a program created by the Department of Defense in 1994 to more efficiently develop new military technology. The Predator can be armed with Hellfire missiles and operates at between 15,000 and 25,000 feet. One incarnation of the Predator, the Predator B, is equipped to deal with a number of weather events, including severe icing conditions. In this photo, a Predator B taxis back to the hangar in El Mirage, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2001.

Doug Benc / AP

The Global Hawk, created by Northrop Grumman, is currently being used over Iraq and Afghanistan and <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/global-hawk.html'>has been used by NASA</a> to monitor greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. Operating at over 60,000 feet, the Global Hawk can remain aloft for more than 24 hours. <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://www.navytimes.com/news/2012/01/ap-pentagon-ending-air-forces-global-hawk-program-012412/'>The Navy Times reported on Jan. 24, 2012</a>, that the Air Force’s Global Hawk program will be discontinued due to budget cuts. The Navy’s program, however, will remain in operation.

The Global Hawk, created by Northrop Grumman, is currently being used over Iraq and Afghanistan and has been used by NASA to monitor greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. Operating at over 60,000 feet, the Global Hawk can remain aloft for more than 24 hours. The Navy Times reported on Jan. 24, 2012, that the Air Force’s Global Hawk program will be discontinued due to budget cuts. The Navy’s program, however, will remain in operation.

Reed Saxon / AP

Although the acronym UAV has become the go-to term for drone technology, <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://www-rucker.army.mil/aircraft/aircraft_uas.html'>members of the military refer to the technology as UAS, or unmanned aircraft systems</a>, referring to not only the airborn technology, but the other ground-based systems that support the aircraft. This photo provided by AAI Corp. shows the Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aircraft. The <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://www.dote.osd.mil/pub/reports/FY2000/army/00shadow.html'>small, lightweight craft</a> is among those used by the military for short-range tactical missions.

Although the acronym UAV has become the go-to term for drone technology, members of the military refer to the technology as UAS, or unmanned aircraft systems, referring to not only the airborn technology, but the other ground-based systems that support the aircraft. This photo provided by AAI Corp. shows the Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aircraft. The small, lightweight craft is among those used by the military for short-range tactical missions.

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Drone technology doesn’t always require a runway and base support technology. In this photo, a camouflaged U.S. Marine holds a <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/call/thesaurus/toc.asp?id=35074'>Dragon Eye</a>, a five-pound, battery-operated spy plane, on Aug. 8, 2002. The modular, unmanned aerial vehicle can fit into a backpack and was designed to provide Marines with a reconnaissance and surveillance capability. The craft can be launched by hand, similar to a paper airplane, or with a bungee cord.

Drone technology doesn’t always require a runway and base support technology. In this photo, a camouflaged U.S. Marine holds a Dragon Eye, a five-pound, battery-operated spy plane, on Aug. 8, 2002. The modular, unmanned aerial vehicle can fit into a backpack and was designed to provide Marines with a reconnaissance and surveillance capability. The craft can be launched by hand, similar to a paper airplane, or with a bungee cord.

Damian Dovarganes / AP

Much of today’s modern drone technology in the U.S. can be tracked back to innovations in Israel. In this March 7, 2007, photo, the Israeli Army Heron TP drone, also known locally as the “Eitan,” flies during a display at the Palmahim Air Force Base. The Israeli military says that a Heron drone that can fly as far as Iran crashed Jan. 29, 2012, in central Israel on a routine experimental flight. The Heron TP, which looks more like a fighter jet than a traditional drone, weighs as much as four tons.

Ariel Schalit / AP

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