Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles: Current Types, Ordnance and Operations

The field of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) is rapidly diversifying as an array of light, midsized, and heavy UCAVs and munitions enter the global marketplace. This has the potential to dramatically expand access to armed unmanned platforms and change the way unmanned aerial vehicles are used in combat.

The influence of UCAVs on the conduct of war has already been felt in conflicts in the Caucasus, the Middle East and North Africa, where state and non-state actors have fielded a dizzying number of UCAVs from around the world. At the same time, advanced militaries are beginning to equip UCAVs with increasingly sophisticated munitions, some of which are heavier and can fly farther than the types of weapons used by UCAVs in the past.

The first in a new series of Strategic Handbooks from Harpia Publishing presents an essential guide to the world of armed unmanned aircraft. It features profiles of every unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) currently in active military service or under development, as well as other unmanned aerial vehicles that could potentially be armed in the future.

Daniel Gettinger is a researcher specializing in manned and unmanned aerospace systems and defence policy. He is an independent consultant and an analyst at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. Dan is the founder and former co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone, a research institute at Bard College in New York that was active between 2012 and 2020. He is the author of numerous studies on unmanned systems, including 'The Drone Databook', a 2019 publication that delved into the military UAV inventories, units, operations and infrastructure of over 100 countries. Dan holds a B.A. in political studies from Bard College.