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Austrailian Ballon
Australians used balloons loaded with explosives. They were large (23 feet in diameter), and they explode on compact the the ground. It is debatable if this is the 1st UAV but it was unarmed. -
World War 1-Hewitt-Sperry
The first pilot less aircraft were built during World War 1. In 1916, the Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane successfully flew, demonstrating that unmanned aircraft flights were possible. The Hewitt-Sperry was controlled through gyroscopes. It was intended to act as a flying bomb. -
US Army Develops Kettering Bug
Following a demonstration of the Hewitt-Sperry, the US Army started the development of the Kettering Bug. The unmanned Kettering Bug was also intended to act as a flying bomb, but was much more successful, with the ability to hit targets 40 miles away. -
US Navy creates radio-controlled aerial aircraft
In the early 1930s, the US Navy began developing the first unmanned aircraft systems that were radio-controlled. They successfully created the Curtiss N2C-2 drone in 1937. The Curtiss N2C-2 drone was radio controlled from a nearby piloted aircraft. -
Radioplane OQ2 – The first large-scale UAV production
Reginald Denny and his Radioplane Company won a US Army contract to mass produce their radio controlled aircraft system. The Radioplane OQ2 UAV was manufactured for use in World War 2. Fifteen thousand of the drones were built for the army. -
Mastiff UAV – Unpiloted surveillance vehicle
In 1973, Israel developed a series of unmanned aircrafts intended specifically for surveillance and scouting. The surveillance drones were called the Mastiff and the IAA Scout. -
Battlefield UAVs
Israel’s Air Force used UAVs as a major component of their battle with Syria’s Air Force. The implementation was extremely successful, and because the vehicles were unmanned, Israeli casualties were kept to a minimum while they successfully won the battle. This changed the world’s perspective on the legitimacy of unmanned aircraft systems and how dependable the technology was. -
US – large-scale UAV development
the United States Military launches a large-scale UAV development program, intended to research and develop the technology further. -
RQ2 Pioneer Reconnaissance drone
United States and Israel form a joint effort to produce the RQ2 Pioneer Reconnaissance drone -
General Atomics MQ-1 Predator
The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator is an American remotely piloted aircraft built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency -
UAVs permitted in US civilian airspace.
A year after Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration authorizes the use of UAV drones in civilian airspace for the first time, in order to search for survivors of disasters. The Predator drone of the time, equipped with an infrared camera, was capable of detecting human heat signatures from a height as far as 10,000 feet. -
Parrot AR Drone is released.
the first smartphone-controlled quadcopter UAV available for consumers. It was first revealed at the International CES 2010 in Las Vegas. Also implemented for the first time, was an IOS application that acted as a control system. The AR Drone was 22 inches in diameter, a size that was manageable for consumer use. -
DJI releases the Phantom 1 UAV.
The release of DJI’s Phantom 1 quadcopter drone, followed by the Phantom 2, saw camera equipped UAVs enter the market for the first time. The Phantom 1 was able to mount a Go Pro, opening a whole new world of aerial photography and cinematography possibilities to hobbyists. DJI’s UAV products quickly gained popularity and made their way into the mainstream market. -
Amazon Drone Delivery.
Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, states that he plans to implement delivery drones to send products to Amazon customers. -
Film and TV use
FAA permits Hollywood film and TV production companies to use drones on set. At this point, prosumer drones with high-quality cameras are already on the market. In addition, high-quality professional drones that are capable of mounting expensive industry-standard cinema cameras are available from companies such as DJI.
