What’s in a Name ?

25 years ago, they were called Remotely Piloted Vehicles or RPV's.  It was a step up from Drone which was the term used during the Viet Nam war and before.  There were variations of course...

NASA called them Remotely Operated Aircraft (ROA) for a while.  The good thing is that there was not much confusion.  DoD named the technology, and we all jumped on the bandwagon.  Even later when RPV was changed to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to indicate a higher level of autonomy, the terminology was never confused.  The acronym was defined and everyone knew what it meant.  There were come variations during the 1990's too.  I like the attempt at political correctness with the Uninhabited Combat Air Vehicle.  It didn't catch on.  Later it became the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV), the first term to define armed UAS.

A few years ago, the terminology changed again to UAS.  Somehow the change from UAV to UAS was confusing to people, especially the media.  Only one letter changed in the acronym, but two words changed.  As defined by DoD in JCS Pub 1-02, and the FAA, UAS stands for Unmanned Aircraft System.  The word Aerial was changed to Aircraft to indicate a shift in the thinking of what these systems are and should be.  For the FAA it meant that the regulations by which we fly these systems apply as they do with any aircraft.  For many years there was a sort of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" mentality in the FAA about the RPV's and UAV's that were being flown around the country.  Companies that are well known today were taking their unmanned aircraft to the nearest open space and testing their systems.  The FAA had not declared that the "Vehicles" were aircraft and that the rules of Title 14 CFR apply.  That all changed in 2005.  DoD wanted to stress the System aspect of the UAS as well.  It’s not just the airframe, but the ground station and datalink too.

The reasons for the change from UAV to UAS were laid out, but a great deal of confusion remained.  Was it Unmanned AERIAL System or Unmanned AIRCRAFT System?

I recall a discussion with some people who had just started a new company and I indicated they had used the terminology incorrectly.  That did not go over very well, I can tell you.

Are we going to change to Remotely Piloted Aircraft in the future as the US Air Force is doing?  I hope so.  We still require a pilot at the controls, especially if the aircraft is armed.  It would remove the confusion around UAS too.

In the mean time, the official terminology is Unmanned Aircraft System.  But don't rely on the media or me for the right answer.  Look it up!  Even Wikipedia has it correct now.  Go to Joint Publication 1-02 and see for yourself.
http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/dod_dictionary/

[Editor’s Comment: It should be noted that UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) is now the official term adopted by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), EUROCONTROL, EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency), JARUS (Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems), the majority of the national civil aviation authorities (including FAA), as well as the world’s two principal international standards organizations, RTCA and EUROCAE. The acronym UAS in invariant (in plural it does NOT take an additional “s”). ]

Mark Ballinger has been an unmanned aircraft pilot for 25 years and still refuses to be called the operator.

Mark Ballinger, Chief UAS Pilot, Raytheon Missile Systems