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The term “drone” has come to loosely refer to unmanned or uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). Nevertheless, the terminology used and definitions adopted can vary between organizations. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) refers to a drone as an “unmanned aircraft system” (UAS), while the US Air Force refers to its largest drones as “remotely piloted aircraft” (RPA). The latter organization prefers to incorporate the word “pilot” because of the significant training required, even for a remotely positioned operator. It also emphasizes that there is a human in the loop of control, albeit remotely. All of these names speak to the attribute that unifies drones: that they operate without pilots on board. Yet various other air vehicles—including missiles, rockets, balloons, or kites—do not have pilots on board. So how are drones different? In line with its UAS designation, the FAA specifically defines a drone as “an unmanned aircraft and the equipment necessary for the safe and efficient operation of that aircraft.” With the hardware and means of control in mind, the FAA goes on to state that “[a]n unmanned aircraft is a component of a UAS. It is defined by statute as an aircraft that is operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the aircraft.”3 Put simply, key points in the FAA’s definition include the flying component without a human onboard; a control station, or equipment used to control the unmanned aircraft remotely; a datalink, or some link between the aircraft and a control station; and support equipment (other components necessary to operate the drone). Although useful in tying together the aircraft and its control components, such a broad understanding of the drone could include everything from small hobbyist quadcopters to large military surveillance and combat drones, offering us only minimal additional criteria to aid in our understanding. Canadian law offers a bit more distinction, although not much. It defines a drone as an “RPA—a navigable aircraft, other than a balloon, rocket or kite, that is operated by a pilot who is not on board.”4 Although this definition is still limited and could include all types of varied drone technologies, we get a clearer sense of what a drone is not and how it differs from other forms of unmanned flight. Kelsey Atherton of Popular Science offers more descriptiveness that supports this broader distinction: “‘drone’ as a category refers to any unmanned, remotely piloted flying craft, ranging from something as small as a radio-controlled toy helicopter to the 32,000- pound, $104 million Global Hawk. If it flies and it’s controlled by a pilot on the ground, it fits under the everyday-language definition of drone.”5 As such, it is clear to see what a drone is and is not, but a little harder to get to the specifics of the different types of drones, their uses, and their capabilities. This is why, as the rest of this chapter will show, classification is needed beyond the broad label of drone. Let’s start by tackling the specific, and often misunderstood, difference between a drone and cruise missile as this will help us explore the different classifications of drones we see today. While the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR, which will be discussed later in Chapter 3) consolidates some drones and missiles as potential delivery systems for weapons of mass destruction, they are actually distinct platforms.6 Cruise missiles can be confused with drones because they too are unmanned. However, more traditional larger drones like the Predator or Reaper (known as Medium Altitude Long Endurance, MALE drones) are, according to the US Defense Department, meant to be recovered while cruise missiles are one-way systems. Furthermore, a cruise missile’s munitions are integrated into its airframe, while the MALE drones are traditionally more segregated and detached.7 In addition, while both drones and cruise missiles are used for stand-off strikes, large drones like a MQ1-B Predator often have a shorter range (1100 kilometers miles, compared to 2,400 kilometers) and are slower than cruise missiles (135 mph, compared to 550 mph).8 The oneway nature of cruise missiles, their long-range capability, and their speed as compared to these larger drone systems impacts the types of missions for which cruise missiles and drones are used. Drones, at least the type that was used for counterterrorism strikes by the United States, are therefore more likely to require forward-operating bases because of their limited range and mission objectives compared to cruise missiles.