Navy's Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Navy's Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

• UAVs date back to the Civil War where both the Union and Confederate forces launched balloons laden with explosives on ammunition depots.
• UAVs have been called: aerial torpedo, drone, radio controlled vehicle, autonomous controlled vehicle, and unmanned aircraft system.
• Controlling UAVs while in the air was a key challenge for early pioneers of unmanned flight.
• World War I caused intense innovation in flight, including power plants, fuselage structures, wing configurations, and control surface arrangements.
• In late 1916, the U.S. Navy hired the Sperry Gyroscope Company to develop a flying unmanned torpedo.
• On 6 March 1918, the Sperry Gyroscope Company succeeded in launching an unmanned torpedo that hit its target 1,000 yards away.
• This successful flight produced the world’s first unmanned aircraft system, the Curtis N-9.
• In the late 1930s, the Navy returned to UAV development, where the Navy Research Lab developed the Curtis N2C-2 radio-controlled drone.
• The 2,500 lb, Curtis N2C-2 biplane was used to test the efficiency and accuracy of the Navy’s anti-aircraft defense system.
• World War II accelerated the advancement of aviation science and unmanned aircraft.
• Both the Allies and Germans successfully utilized unmanned aircraft during World War II
• The most extensive unmanned program occurred during the Vietnam War.
• Advances in technology made unmanned vehicles more effective and practical during the Vietnam War
• Drones were flown extensively during the Vietnam war for: reconnaissance, intelligence missions, leaflet drops, and surface-to-air missile radar detection.
• In recent years, the Fire Scout and Scan Eagle platforms were used during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom from multiple ground and sea-based platform
• Unmanned systems are typically utilized for surveillance or dangerous work where technology is preferable to risking a human life.
• Unmanned systems continue to increase the time they can stay in the air and improve warfighting capabilities.

Explore the history of the Navy's use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), from Civil War balloons to the first unmanned aircraft system. Learn about the challenges of controlling UAVs and the innovations spurred by World War I. Discover the Sperry Gyroscope Company's successful unmanned torpedo launch in 1918.