Review on the Technological Development and Application of UAV Systems

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are products of deep integration of aviation technology and Information technology (IT). The core factor of why the UAV industry can become a relatively independent industry and experience rapid development is the full penetration of IT into the aviation industry. Under the networked environment, UAVs are now becoming datadriven mobile agents. With the development of information technology, information transmission networking, operation space digitizing, and flight platform intelligentizing will become the main trends of technological development of UAV systems. The application of UAV systems is not merely a paradigm in transportation, but will more importantly produce “UAV+” novel production modes, service formats, and combat modes associated with UAVs. These emerging trends will have profound impacts on future economic and social development as well as the building of armed forces.