Survey of unmanned air vehicles

Unmanned air vehicle (UAV) systems encompass platforms, control stations, payloads and sensors. Advanced flight controls are required to provide the level of autonomy necessary to meet mission requirements and to maintain around-the-clock reliability. A review of current systems is given, with particular attention given to airframes. The designation of specific mission requirements and aircraft performance characteristics may provide helpful information to allow control system designers to tailor their control systems to the unique applications needed