Читать книгу Introduction to UAV Systems - Mohammad H. Sadraey - Страница 15

Part One provides a general background for an introduction to the technology of unmanned aerial vehicle systems, called “UAV systems” or “unmanned aerial systems” (UAS). This part is comprised of two chapters, 1 and 2.

Chapter 1 presents a brief history of UAVs. It then identifies and describes the functions of the major elements (subsystems) that may be present in a generic UAS. Finally, it provides a short history of a major UAV development program that failed to produce a fielded UAS, despite significant success in many of the individual subsystems, and teaches useful lessons about the importance of understanding the inter‐relationship and interactions of the subsystems of the UAS and the implications of system performance requirements at a total‐systems level. This story is told here to emphasize the importance of the word “system” in the terms “UAV System” and “UAS.”

Chapter 2 contains a survey of UAS that have been or presently are in use and discusses various schemes that are used to classify UAV systems according to their size, endurance, and/or mission. The information in this chapter is subject to becoming dated because the technology of many of the subsystems of a UAS is evolving rapidly as they become more and more part of the mainstream after many years of being on the fringes of the aeronautical engineering world. Nonetheless, some feeling for the wide variety of UAS concepts and types is needed to put the later discussion of design and system integration issues into context. Currently about 100 countries are employing military drones.