The development of drone technology has been an enormous boon not only for film enthusiasts, scientists and commercial applications, but for the U.S. Armed Forces and other militaries around the world. They can provide impressive firepower in a small package and sometimes (but not always) a cheap one. The advantages of such applications are obvious: being remotely-operated, the risk to a pilot is greatly reduced.
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This isn’t to say, of course that military drones are purely offensive weapons. Throughout the history of warfare, reconnaissance and transportation have been equally formidable weapons. Drones and unmanned aircraft more broadly can excel in all of these areas, which is why there’s a wide variety of them to be found deployed by the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and now Space Force.
The U.S. military has divided its UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) repertoire into five numbered groups, separating them by their size, weight, and other capabilities. Let’s take a look at each group in turn to see how the models differ. Some models are works in progress, others are in current use and yet others have been discontinued, but all of them have been instrumental parts of a whole new kind of warfare, one that is even changing the way aircraft carriers are used.
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What Groups Of Military Drones Are Used By The US Armed Forces?
