Drones & UAVs#
Reference of unmanned aerial systems by class, with notable consumer, commercial, and military platforms; the standard size / endurance categories; the radio links + autopilots they use; and the counter-UAS landscape. Maritime + ground unmanned systems are noted briefly at the end.
For RF spectrum context, see Radio Frequencies. For satellites, see Satellites. For OT control systems, see ICS / SCADA / OT.
NATO classification#
Class |
Max takeoff mass |
Examples |
|---|---|---|
Class I (Micro) |
< 2 kg |
Black Hornet, Skydio R1, DJI Mavic. |
Class I (Mini) |
2-20 kg |
RQ-11 Raven, ScanEagle (lower end), Switchblade 300. |
Class I (Small) |
20-150 kg |
Aerosonde, Penguin C, Switchblade 600. |
Class II (Tactical) |
150-600 kg |
RQ-7 Shadow, Bayraktar TB2, Hermes 450. |
Class III (MALE) |
> 600 kg, < 18km alt |
MQ-9 Reaper, RQ-1 Predator, Heron TP, CH-4 / CH-5. |
Class III (HALE) |
> 600 kg, > 18km alt |
RQ-4 Global Hawk, MQ-4C Triton, Sora. |
Class III (UCAV) |
> 600 kg, combat |
nEUROn, X-47B, MQ-25 Stingray. |
Consumer / prosumer#
Vendor |
Country |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
DJI |
China |
Market leader (~70%+ share); Mavic / Mini / Air series; Phantom legacy; Inspire pro; OcuSync / O3+ link; restricted in US fed use (NDAA 889 / DJI Bill). |
Autel Robotics |
China / US |
Evo / Lite / Nano series; consumer + enterprise. |
Parrot |
France |
Anafi / Anafi USA; thermal options; FR + EU / NATO procurement. |
Skydio |
US |
Skydio 2 / 2+ / X10 / Skydio Pursuit; AI-driven autonomous; US DoD Blue UAS list. |
Yuneec |
China/Austria |
H520E commercial; Typhoon consumer (legacy). |
Holy Stone |
CN |
Toy + entry-level. |
Potensic |
CN |
Entry-level. |
EHang |
China |
Passenger / cargo (EH216-S); urban air mobility focus. |
Commercial / industrial#
Vendor |
Country |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
Skydio Enterprise |
US |
X10D, X10 Pro; first-responder / utility inspection. |
Wingcopter |
DE |
Fixed-wing VTOL delivery (medical, last-mile). |
Zipline |
US |
Tube-launch fixed-wing medical delivery; US / RW / GH. |
Matternet |
US |
Hospital + city logistics; Swiss FOCA approved. |
Skyports / Volocopter |
EU |
VTOL passenger. |
PrecisionHawk |
US |
Agriculture; analytics SaaS. |
senseFly (eBee) |
CH |
Mapping fixed-wing. |
Quantum Systems |
DE |
Trinity F90+ VTOL fixed-wing. |
Microdrones |
DE |
MD4 quadcopter for survey. |
WingtraOne |
CH |
VTOL fixed-wing survey. |
Delair |
FR |
Long-range fixed-wing. |
American Robotics |
US |
Agricultural autonomous. |
Joby / Archer / Lilium |
US/DE |
eVTOL passenger (regulatory-stage). |
Military / defense#
Platform |
Country |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
MQ-9 Reaper |
US |
GA-ASI; MALE; 1700 kg payload; Hellfire / GBU. |
MQ-9B SkyGuardian |
US |
UK Protector RG.1; civil-airspace certifiable. |
MQ-1 Predator (retired) |
US |
GA-ASI; predecessor. |
RQ-4 Global Hawk |
US |
HALE strategic ISR; ~32 hr endurance. |
MQ-4C Triton |
US |
Maritime Global Hawk derivative. |
RQ-170 Sentinel |
US |
Stealth ISR; one captured in Iran 2011. |
RQ-180 (rumored) |
US |
Stealth HALE. |
RQ-7 Shadow |
US |
Tactical (retired by US Army 2024). |
RQ-11 Raven |
US |
AeroVironment hand-launched mini. |
RQ-20 Puma |
US |
AeroVironment fixed-wing mini. |
ScanEagle |
US |
Boeing-Insitu; catapult-launched. |
RQ-21 Blackjack |
US |
Boeing-Insitu; tactical. |
Switchblade 300/600 |
US |
AeroVironment loitering munitions. |
Phoenix Ghost |
US |
AeroVironment loitering munitions; Ukraine. |
GA-ASI Mojave |
US |
STOL armed Reaper variant. |
Bayraktar TB2 |
TR |
Baykar; widely exported (Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Libya, Ethiopia). |
Bayraktar Akıncı |
TR |
Baykar; HALE / strike. |
Bayraktar Kızılelma |
TR |
Baykar UCAV; under development. |
Anka |
TR |
TAI MALE. |
Aksungur |
TR |
TAI MALE / strike. |
Heron 1 / TP |
IL |
IAI MALE. |
Hermes 450 / 900 |
IL |
Elbit MALE. |
Harop / Harpy |
IL |
IAI loitering munition. |
Spike Firefly |
IL |
Loitering munition. |
WZL/Krypek (proposed) |
PL |
Loitering munition. |
CH-4 / CH-5 |
CN |
CASC; Predator-class export; Iraq, KSA, Algeria. |
Wing Loong I/II/10 |
CN |
CADI; Reaper-class export. |
TB-001 Scorpion |
CN |
CASIC; medium altitude long endurance. |
WZ-7 Soaring Dragon |
CN |
HALE. |
GJ-11 Sharp Sword |
CN |
Stealth UCAV. |
Orlan-10 |
RU |
ISR; widely fielded; Iranian + Belarusian variants. |
Forpost-R |
RU |
IL Searcher II clone. |
Shahed 131 / 136 |
IR |
Loitering munition; widely exported (Russia uses as Geran-2). |
Mohajer-6 |
IR |
ISR / armed. |
Lancet-3 |
RU |
Loitering munition. |
Granat |
RU |
ISR. |
Akinci (above) |
TR |
n/a |
MQ-28 Ghost Bat |
AU/Boeing |
Adjunct UCAV (Loyal Wingman). |
nEUROn |
EU consortium |
Stealth UCAV demonstrator. |
X-47B (retired) |
US |
Stealth carrier UCAV demonstrator. |
MQ-25 Stingray |
US |
Boeing carrier UAS tanker. |
Black Hornet |
NO/US |
FLIR / Teledyne; pocket nano-UAV; widely fielded. |
Autopilots / autopilot stacks#
Stack |
Org |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
ArduPilot |
ArduPilot |
Open-source; Plane / Copter / Rover / Sub; Pixhawk hardware. |
PX4 |
PX4 |
Open-source; popular with industry; QGroundControl. |
Betaflight |
Betaflight |
FPV racing; Cleanflight fork. |
INAV |
INAV |
ArduPilot-style on Betaflight hardware. |
Cleanflight |
Open |
Predecessor of Betaflight. |
DJI flight controller |
s DJI |
Closed; Naza, A2, A3, N3, A16, OcuSync. |
Auterion |
Auterion |
PX4-based commercial; Skynode. |
Cube (CubePilot) |
ProfiCNC |
Pixhawk-class FCs. |
Holybro Pixhawk |
Holybro |
Open-hardware Pixhawk variants. |
mRo |
mRo |
Pixhawk variants. |
RF / control links#
Link |
Spectrum |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
DJI OcuSync 1/2/3 |
2.4 / 5.8 GHz |
Up to 15-20 km in clear conditions; AES-256. |
DJI Lightbridge |
5.8 GHz |
Older DJI; 5 km. |
DJI O3+ / O4 |
2.4 / 5.8 / 5 |
.7 Latest DJI; 20+ km; 1080p video. |
Crossfire / TBS |
868 / 915 MHz |
TBS Crossfire long-range RC; popular FPV / mil. |
ELRS (ExpressLRS) |
900 MHz / 2.4 |
Open-source long-range RC; very popular. |
Frsky / FlySky |
2.4 GHz |
Older RC. |
Spektrum DSM/X |
2.4 GHz |
Spektrum. |
HereLink |
2.4 GHz |
CubePilot LTE / RF combined. |
Doodle Labs |
2.4 / 915 / 5 |
Mesh radios; military / SAR. |
Microhard / Silvus |
2.3-2.5 / 5.7 |
MIMO mesh; DoD-popular. |
SATCOM |
BGAN / L-band |
MQ-9 / RQ-4 BLOS link. |
LTE / 5G |
cellular |
Commercial-spectrum control; coverage-limited. |
Counter-UAS#
Vendor / system |
Country |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
DJI AeroScope |
China |
Detects DJI drones via OcuSync sniffing; sunset for some services 2023. |
DroneShield |
AU |
RF detection + jammers (DroneGun). |
Dedrone |
DE / US |
RF + radar + camera fusion. |
Anduril Anvil |
US |
Interceptor drone; counter-sUAS. |
Epirus Leonidas |
US |
HPM directed energy. |
Raytheon Coyote |
US |
Interceptor. |
Raytheon HEL |
US |
Laser. |
Lockheed ATHENA / IFP |
US |
Laser + mast. |
Northrop M-LIDS |
US |
Multi-mission counter-sUAS. |
SkyWall (OpenWorks) |
UK |
Net launcher. |
Smart Shooter SMASH |
IL |
Fire control add-on for rifle. |
Drone Defender / DroneSentinel |
US |
Backpack jammer. |
Russia Borisoglebsk-2 |
RU |
EW jamming. |
Iran Mobtaher / 358 |
IR |
SAM + AAA. |
Standards / regulation#
Authority |
Region |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
FAA Part 107 |
US |
Commercial sUAS; remote ID required since 2023. |
FAA TRUST |
US |
Recreational test. |
EASA |
EU |
C0 / C1 / C2 / C3 / C4 categories; Open / Specific / Certified. |
CAA |
UK |
Post-Brexit; mostly EASA-aligned. |
Transport Canada |
CA |
Basic / Advanced; RPAS. |
CASA |
AU |
Sub-2 kg; ReOC for commercial. |
DGCA |
India |
Digital Sky / NPNT. |
CAAC |
China |
UAS Cloud System. |
JCAB |
Japan |
Level 1-4; remote ID. |
DGAC |
France |
U-space framework. |
LBA |
Germany |
BMVI rules. |
ANAC |
Brazil |
E-classes. |
Surface unmanned (briefly)#
Domain |
Examples |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
USV (surface) |
Saildrone, Oci |
us Bluebottle, Sea Hunter (DARPA), Triton. |
UUV (subsurface) |
REMUS 100/600/ |
6000 (HII), Bluefin (GD), Boeing Echo Voyager. |
UGV (ground) |
Ghost Robotics |
V60, Boston Dynamics Spot, Milrem THeMIS, Boomerang Robotics. |
Loitering ground |
Switchblade-cl |
ass repurposed as ground. |
Operator notes#
Remote ID, US (FAA) requires Remote ID broadcast for most sUAS since Sept 2023; EASA C-class requirements active. Both broadcast unencrypted, can be received with any BT/WiFi sniffer.
Geofencing, DJI’s “Fly Safe” zones can be unlocked with FAA waivers; not a substitute for airspace clearance.
Spectrum congestion, 2.4 GHz is the most contested band; FPV pilots are migrating to 5.8 / 6 GHz.
GNSS jamming / spoofing, common in active conflict zones; modern stacks support multi-constellation (GPS + GAL + BDS + GLO) + dead-reckoning + visual odometry.
Export controls, Wassenaar 9.A.1 covers UAVs > 300 km range / payload; ITAR for US-built; Cat 9; reach state + EU + UK lists.
Blue UAS / Trusted UAS, US DoD list of NDAA-compliant platforms (no Chinese components); Skydio, Parrot Anafi USA, Teal 2, Vantage Robotics Trace, Wingtra, Easy Aerial, Inspired Flight, Freefly Astro.
Public-safety operators require COA / TFR / NOTAM awareness; aviate-navigate-communicate still applies.
First-person view (FPV) racing drones are now combat- proven loitering munitions; ELRS + 5.8 GHz analog video + $300 BOM.