A drone - or UAV, for Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle - is any aircraft that flies without a person on board. They range from tiny toy quadcopters that fit in your palm to giant military aircraft with wingspans wider than a Boeing 737. Some take photographs. Others survey crops, deliver packages, or watch enemy positions in war zones.
Bigger military drones like the MQ-9 Reaper can carry cameras, sensors, and weapons. They can climb to 50,000 feet and stay airborne for over 30 hours on a single tank of fuel. The pilots aren’t on board - they sit at consoles, often thousands of miles away, watching live video feeds and giving commands that bounce off satellites.
Small consumer drones have exploded in popularity in the last decade. A quadcopter with four spinning rotors costs a few hundred dollars, fits in a backpack, and can shoot crisp aerial video. Delivery companies are testing drones that drop packages on doorsteps, and rescuers use them to spot lost hikers from above before sending in ground teams.
