History Develoment of European UAVs Technology

Until the 1960s UAVs were limited in their operations to either pre-programmed flight or to remote radio control. The first option enabled long-range operations, but no flexibility once the UAV was launched, whereas the second option gave flexibility, but severely restricted the range because the controller needed to see the UAV he was steering. In the 1960s developments in data transmission and in electronic miniaturization opened the way for reliable and small sensors to provide live data of sufficient quality to give operators on the ground a chance to see what the UAV’s sensors were seeing and thus to steer the UAV based on these pictures.

The very first UAV used by a European country was the US MQM-57 used by the UK from the late-1950s13. This crude UAV was replaced in the early 1970s by the Canadian CL-89, which also entered service with France, Germany and Italy. Other current EU Member States have been using UAVs on a limited scale. But it was not until the 1990s that European countries first used UAVs in a war zone, or that most other European countries introduced UAVs. Today, the armed forces of almost all of them operate UAVs.

Indeed, the use of UAVs is spreading around the world. They are being deployed even by developing countries like the Philippines (which bought UAVs from Israel in 2001 for use against rebel groups) and Nigeria (which bought them in 2006 for patrolling the Niger Delta).

Today, UAVs range from extremely simple, short-range 'vehicles' for battlefield use, to multi-million dollar 'aircraft' with almost global reach. However, except in respect of the really long-range UAVs, it is not so much the UAV itself that is important, but the payload and the ground station capacities to process and disseminate data. Simple UAVs generally carry little more than a video camera that sends images over limited distances to a ground station that has limited links to other units. Larger UAVs can carry larger or different types of camera, while electronic intelligence systems (ELINT) and ground-surveillance radars are becoming common too. The ground stations are linked into a larger and faster network.

The advantage of UAVs for reconnaissance is obvious: low cost, low visibility and unmanned. Most countries can easily afford them, while the loss of one does not cost much and leaves no pilot to be rescued. Especially against unconventional enemies such as rebel, terrorist and criminal groups, or when used in 'undeclared' wars (e.g. Israeli use of UAVs over Lebanon) the unmanned aspect of UAVs is a clear advantage. The fact that the vehicle does not need to accommodate a pilot makes it possible to keep it small, providing low visibility and enabling a stealthy approach. This means that a target is often unaware of being observed by the UAV (as often happened vis-à-vis Israeli UAVs over Lebanon).