Drones

Military Drones US Homeland
An MQ-1B Predator unmanned aircraft takes off for a training mission at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. (Image credit: U.S. Air Force | Senior Airman Larry E. Reid Jr.)

Drones, also called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have no human pilot onboard, and instead are either controlled by a person on the ground or autonomously via a computer program. These stealth craft are becoming increasingly popular, not just for war and military purposes, but also for everything from wildlife and atmospheric research to disaster relief and sports photography. Drones are becoming the eyes and ears of scientists by surveying the ground for archaeological sites, signs of illegal hunting and crop damage, and even zipping inside hurricanes to study the wild storms. You can even rent a personal drone to soar above the horizon and snap a photo or video. Our news and features will cover developments in drone technologies, innovative uses for drones and how drone use will impact society.

Latest about drones

Military drone with a bomb at sunset. Attack drone in military conflicts.

DARPA is funding AI to help make battlefield decisions

By Joe Phelan published

The U.S. military research agency DARPA is spending millions to develop artificial intelligence that can help make strategic battlefield decisions.

Artificial Intelligence
Dugout with entrance from the Battle of the Bulge site.

Drones equipped with lasers uncover secrets of bloody WWII battle

By Kiley Price published

Artifacts from the Battle of the Bulge are helping researchers reconstruct this bloody conflict.

Archaeology
A person holds a drone that was made using a taxidermy bird.

Taxidermy birds are being turned into drones

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

Scientists are turning dead birds into drones to study aerodynamics.

Birds
For seven months, drone photographer Lior Patel tracked the movements of a herd of sheep in Israel.

Watch sheep flow like water in mesmerizing time-lapse drone footage

By Mindy Weisberger published

A photographer created an astonishing time-lapse video from aerial footage of sheep as they traveled between pastures over seven months.

Land Mammals
Manam Volcano in Papua New Guinea, as seen from space on June 16, 2010.

Drones are flying straight into volcanoes, for life-saving science

By Clare Watson published

Researchers have designed specially-adapted drones to fly straight into volcanoes and help gather data from an active volcano in Papua New Guinea.

Volcanos
A drone caught a close encounter between a surfer and a shark in Australia.

Drone warns surfer of very close encounter with 5-foot shark in Australia

By Stephanie Pappas published

A program that uses drones to warn surfers of nearby sharks recorded a very close encounter off the coast in New South Wales.

Sharks
Circles of bubbles trap tiny sea creatures that humpback whales eat.

Watch Rare Footage of Whales Blowing 'Bubble Nets' to Capture Prey in a Vortex of Doom

By Mindy Weisberger published

Underwater and airborne cameras recently captured an astounding sight: feeding whales producing bubble nets to trap their prey.

Whales
A radioactive warning sign inside the exclusion zone.

Drones Find Unexpected Radiation 'Hotspots' in Forest Near Chernobyl

By Mindy Weisberger published

This is the first time that fixed-wing drones were used for radiation mapping.

Planet Earth
Here's what happens when a drone crashes into the wing of an airplane.

When a Drone Crashes into an Airplane, Everyone Has a Bad Time

By Brandon Specktor published

A drone crashed into an airplane. The results were seriously scary.

Tech
The Airbus Zephyr drone launches for its record-setting flight on July 11.

Pseudo-Satellite Drone Flies for 25 Days Straight, Sets Endurance Record

By Tom Metcalfe published

The Zephyr drone could be used for military reconnaissance and wildfire monitoring, among other activities.

Tech
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