Glosario UAV
UAV
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle — an aircraft that operates without an onboard human pilot.
UAS
Unmanned Aircraft System — the aircraft plus ground control, links and supporting elements.
UCAV
Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle — an unmanned aircraft publicly described for combat-oriented roles.
ISR
Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance — prefer “ISR UAV” rather than vague “intelligence drone.”
Tactical UAV
Generally shorter-range or unit-level unmanned aircraft relative to MALE/HALE categories (definitions vary by source).
MALE UAV
Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance unmanned aerial vehicle class used in public defence analysis.
HALE UAV
High-Altitude Long-Endurance unmanned aerial vehicle class.
Autonomous Combat Aircraft
Public concept category for highly automated unmanned combat aircraft programmes.