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.
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.
Group 1: The Smallest UAVs
The Group 1 classification for a UAS, as defined by the Department of Defense’s Unmanned Aircraft System Airspace Integration Plan, contains models that are “typically hand-launched, self-contained, portable systems employed for a small unit or base security.” They generally weigh no more than 20 pounds. Typically operating within view of the pilot, they have a short range, generally flying at speeds of 100 knots or less and lower than 1,200 feet from the ground.
A prominent group 1 UAV in the U.S. arsenal is the RQ-11 Raven family. The Raven may have many of the characteristics of a remote control airplane one might fly as a hobby, being launched by hand and just three feet long with a 4.5-foot wingspan, but it’s a valuable tool in the military’s arsenal. It excels in the recon role, equipped with infrared capabilities and a 10-kilometer view.
The RQ-11 was first fielded in 2004 and the family is still used by the U.S. military, with manufacturer AeroVironment declaring it “the most widely deployed unmanned aircraft system in the world.” It blends the convenience of a rucksack-sized drone with advanced ground control links, infrared and gimbal technology allowing this discreet eye-not-very-high-in-the-sky to provide up-to-the-minute photo and video. They can fly for approximately 75 minutes at a time, ample for close-range missions.
Group 2: Catapult UAVs
The Department of Defense‘s UAS Task Force notes that drones with this classification will weigh up to around 55 pounds, and have considerably more versatility in their range, being capable of flying at heights of up to around 3,500 feet. They have a very similar general role to that of smaller models like the Raven.
Recon and surveillance are a specialty of smaller drones in particular, and group 2’s models are well-suited to this aspect of warfare. One notable example of this second group of UAVs is the Scan Eagle, a drone introduced by Insitu (a brand purchased by aviation giant Boeing in July 2008). With a 10.2-foot wingspan, a length of 5.6 ft, and the capacity to carry up to 11 lbs in cargo, the Scan Eagle is quite a sizable prospect, and it also packs some hefty surveillance equipment.
Beneath its rather simplistic-looking exterior, it boasts an EO950 with an EO telescope and zoom capacity outputting at 960×720 pixels, as well as digital and analog datalink. It’s also used to form a communication relay. The drone itself has a sizable entourage of four (two to perform maintenance on it and two to pilot it), with its increased size requiring the use of a sort of slingshot launcher to get it in the air. It communicates with systems on the ground that interpret the data it provides.
Group 3: The middle of the range UAVs
Group 3 models are categorized as being up to 1,320 lbs in weight. They can reach up to FL (Flight Level) 180, the equivalent of approximately transition altitude, 18,000 feet, in the U.S.
An example of a group 3 UAV is the RQ-7B Shadow, a name that reflects the modus operandi of the model: To subtly and secretly see. It’s an insidious weapon that doesn’t strike the blow itself, but rather provides the location information needed by its heavy-hitting allies. It does this primarily through its connection to an Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System and Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System. At a Fort Huachuca event marking the end of the service of the original Shadow in April 2024, aircrew training program manager Raymond Rivera explained the invaluable function the model performed: “If [the Soldier] can’t see over that hill, or around that corner, you put these systems up in the air, and they provide that for them.”
The Shadow v2 Block III, current model, is still in action, boasting a 20.4-foot wingspan and 535-lb maximum weight at takeoff. As a result of its size, models of this caliber require launchers using hydraulic or pneumatic power, and a Tactical Automatic Landing System to return to earth. They’re a far cry from their hand-launched little peers, but there are other much bigger UAVs and UAS still.
Group 4: The second-largest models around
Where some of the smallest UAVs are designed for similarly-small scale operations, often in view of the operator, there are some military operations that call for drones with even larger range and altitude capacity than group 3 models. Group 4, according to the unofficial designations of the Department of Defense, can weigh above 1,320 lbs – the top-end weight of the world’s largest land carnivore, the polar bear – but, unlike the final group, tend to be restricted to a typical altitude of less than 180 FL.
The speedy MQ-1B Predator, while originally intended for a supportive role like the Shadow, distinguishes itself with its ability to also wield potent firepower. A pair of Hellfire AGM-114 missiles means that it can both pinpoint targets and strike them with its own hefty projectiles. A 2,250 lb maximum weight and 55-foot wingspan demonstrate how sizable this group of UAVs can be, while its versatile 115 horsepower 914F Rotax engine, additional sensor operator, and ‘M’ (Multi-Role) designation all make it clear that the model isn’t a one-function wonder, with the U.S. Air Force defining its job as being “primarily as an intelligence-collection asset and secondarily against dynamic execution targets.”
For practicality’s sake, multi-purpose drones such as these are common. In September 2015, the U.S. Air Force wielded 150 Predator drones. The largest UAVs, designated group 5, also tend to put firepower second, as potent as they may be in the area.
