UAV

abbreviation or noun

ˌyü-ˌā-ˈvē 

plural UAVs

: rpv

UAVs, as the Pentagon calls them, are operated not unlike the hobbyist's remote-controlled airplanes; soldiers on the ground man computer stations with controls that fly the aircraft.

—Daniel G. Dupont

Examples of UAV in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Soldiers from a separate task force rifle battalion of the National Police of Ukraine in the Zaporizhzhia region carry a GARA UAV to a shelter in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, October 16, 2026. — Anastasiia Parafeniuk, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026

The rider's family watched the rescue on the UAV live feed from the base. — Christa Swanson, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026

Aircraft designers could gain more freedom when arranging electrical systems inside compact UAV structures. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026

On top of that, Lange says, as UAV autonomy progresses, UGVs could be left behind. — Tereza Pultarova, IEEE Spectrum, 10 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

unmanned aerial vehicle

First Known Use

1986, in the meaning defined above