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
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Russia, Israel, Ukraine, and Turkey have also developed robust UAV manufacturing capabilities. Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026 Sensors mounted on the vessel, including radar and electro-optical tracking systems, monitor the UAV’s position relative to the landing platform. Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 8 May 2026 One of the biggest hitters in the conventional arsenal merged with drone technology, as the US Army tested a bunker-buster warhead combined with an expendable Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for field testing at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. New Atlas, 4 May 2026 Multiple drones crossed into NATO member Finland, officials said on Sunday, the latest in a spate of uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) incidents hitting the alliance's eastern flank. Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2026 There's also the Shahed — an expendable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used to target U.S. military bases in the Gulf and linked to attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf. Scott Neuman, NPR, 18 Mar. 2026 The stakes are high for the UAV operators. Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 13 Mar. 2026 Weapons storage facilities, UAV storage facilities, ballistic missiles, defense systems and missile launchers were struck, the Israel Defense Forces said. CBS News, 13 Mar. 2026 Depending on the specific UAV platform, the FAA attributed between 20% and 100% of Army and Air Force UAV crashes caused by human error through 2004 to poor interface design. Missy Cummings, IEEE Spectrum, 2 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

unmanned aerial vehicle

First Known Use

1986, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of UAV was in 1986

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“UAV.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/UAV. Accessed 13 May. 2026.

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