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Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

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An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an aircraft that carries no human pilot or passengers. UAVs—sometimes called drones—can be fully or partially autonomous but are more often controlled remotely by a human pilot. RAND research has contributed to the public discussion on the use of drones for warfare and surveillance.

Report
Opportunities for the Brazilian Navy to Employ Additional Unmanned Systems
The Brazilian Navy needs to have both the capabilities and capacity to meet a wide range of demands over vast and diverse geographic areas. What are some of the potential ways the Brazilian Navy could use unmanned systems to improve effectiveness and, potentially, reduce risks and costs?
Aug 10, 2021
Report
Small Unmanned Aerial System Adversary Capabilities
It is difficult to detect, identify, classify, and—consequently—counter nefarious small unmanned aerial systems (sUASs), particularly in urban areas. As the U.S. Department of Homeland Security prepares for this potential threat, it will need to know the types of threat scenarios in which these systems could be used, which design elements are likely to be exploited by a nefarious actor, and which technologies and capabilities may be available in the near future.
Mar 12, 2020

Explore Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Commentary
Obama's Iraq Dilemma
On the surface, President Obama faces a classic foreign policy dilemma: The Iraqis are asking for U.S. military assistance to halt ISIS's dangerous offensive, but Obama has long promised the American people that he would withdraw the U.S. military from involvement in Iraq.
Jun 17, 2014
Commentary
The Downside of Drones
The chief political drawback is that target countries' populations view drone attacks as violations of their sovereignty every bit as much as manned raids. The chief military drawback: A drone attack destroys the critical intelligence that is needed to ensure that the tactical strike can be converted to strategic advantage.
Nov 1, 2013
Commentary
The Future of Counterterrorism: Fewer Drones, More Partnerships
Drones are just one of three principal U.S. counterterrorism tools. Special Operations forces are now relying on a more balanced mix of tactics: Launching raids and developing partner forces offer more versatility than drone strikes and will probably become the wave of the future as America's big wars wind down.
Oct 21, 2013
Blog
Do U.S. Raids in Libya, Somalia Signal a Shift in Terror Strategy?
The raids that the United States conducted over the weekend in Libya and Somalia could signal a new focus in Washington on capturing terrorist suspects and gathering intelligence rather than relying on drone strikes. RAND experts Linda Robinson, Angel Rabasa, and Seth Jones comment.
Oct 10, 2013
Multimedia
Events @ RAND Podcast: Drones
In September 2013, Ted Harshberger, director of RAND Project AIR FORCE, moderated a panel discussion on current military and nonmilitary use of drones and other potential applications.
Sep 25, 2013
Commentary
Drones Are Useful, but Not the Solution or the Problem
The effectiveness of our attacks, particularly by drones, has already decimated the al Qaeda hierarchy, writes Harold Brown. That achievement, together with the negative effect on Muslim publics of drone attacks, suggests that the rate of their usage could be moderated.
May 16, 2013
Commentary
The Benefits of U.S. Drones in West Africa
The establishment of a U.S. base in Niger is intended to facilitate intelligence collection and will provide a more complete picture of militant movements in Niger, Mali, and other countries in the Sahel, writes Seth Jones. The United States will share this intelligence with Malian and French forces.
Apr 5, 2013
Dissertation
Expanding the Use of Time/Frequency Difference of Arrival Geolocation in the Department of Defense
Explores an area in which the Department of Defense can operate smarter with its proliferating unmanned aircraft systems fleet.
Nov 12, 2012
Commentary
Expect More Drone Use Like Recent Israeli Episode
Practically any country that aspires to an indigenous aviation industry (as most countries do, even if only for national pride) has a reasonably capable, medium-altitude unmanned drone system in development or flying already, writes Ted Harshberger.
Oct 11, 2012
Commentary
Drone Strikes Keep Pressure on al-Qaida
Recently declassified correspondence seized in the bin Laden raid shows that the relentless pressure from the drone campaign on al-Qaida in Pakistan led bin Laden to advise al-Qaida operatives to leave Pakistan's Tribal Areas as no longer safe, writes Patrick B. Johnston.
Aug 22, 2012
Report
Methodologies for Analyzing Remotely Piloted Aircraft in Future Roles and Missions
This briefing describes a suite of tools to help the Air Force think through future roles for remotely piloted aircraft.
May 30, 2012
Report
The Future of Air Force Motion Imagery Exploitation: Lessons from the Commercial World
Commercial television production practices inspire an approach to managing exploitation of the Air Force's rapidly growing motion imagery collections.
Mar 6, 2012
Report
Incentive Pay for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Career Fields
An econometric assessment of the effectiveness of incentive pays for retaining remotely piloted aircraft pilots and sensor operators.
Mar 6, 2012
Report
Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Logistics Applications
An evaluation of potential logistics applications for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) determines whether they are technically feasible, operationally feasible, and more cost-effective than other options. Six factors are identified that can be used to compare UAS and non-UAS based solutions to logistics tasks.
Jan 25, 2012
Journal Article
Searching for the Strategy
Unmanned aerial systems have enormous potential, but the MoD lacks an overarching UAS vision.
Dec 1, 2011
Journal Article
When Will the U.S. Drone War End?
The next president of the United States needs to answer this question: When, and under what conditions, will the U.S. government stop using drones to bomb suspected terrorists around the world?
Nov 1, 2011
Report
Feasibility of Laser Power Transmission to a High-Altitude Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Is powering an ultra-high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle with a laser beam a practical possibility?
Jun 9, 2011
News Release
Flawed Strategy, Not a 'Failure of Air Power,' Led to Israel's Disappointing Performance in 2006 Lebanon War
Israel's disappointing performance in its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006 did not reflect a "failure of air power," but rather a failure of Israel's political and military leaders to properly assess the enemy, set achievable goals, apply an effective strategy and adequately manage public expectations.
May 23, 2011
Report
Flawed Strategy, Not a 'Failure of Air Power,' Led to Israel's Disappointing Performance in 2006 Lebanon War
Israel's disappointing performance in its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006 did not reflect a
May 23, 2011
Report
Applications for Navy Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Evaluates the U.S. Navy's ongoing and proposed unmanned aircraft system (UAS) programs and describes the most promising applications of those UASs to the Navy's operational tasks.
Jun 8, 2010

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RAND Topic:
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Rachel M. Burns

Senior Quantitative Analyst

Rachel M. Burns is a senior quantitative analyst at the RAND Corporation. During her tenure at RAND, she has worked on projects focused on disaster response and recovery operations, neighborhood influences on health, substance abuse and drug policy, unmanned aerial vehicles, the mental health…
Brien Alkire

Senior Researcher

Brien Alkire is a senior researcher at the RAND Corporation and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He leads and conducts research in C4ISR and national security space policy. He serves as director, Staff Development and Education in Project AIR FORCE, and was previously an associate…

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