Drone vs UAV vs UAS vs RPAS

Terms referring to drones are often used interchangeably among operators, regulators, and manufacturers. Many people use the common term “drone”, while commercial operators, public organizations, and associations refer to more specific terms, such as Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), small UAS (sUAS), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS).

Below is a description of the different terms to help navigate in the unmanned aviation industry.

Drone

The drone is the most common name for Unmanned Aircraft (UA) that can fly autonomously or can be operated remotely.

The term drone has been used since the early days of aviation. Drone primarily refers to an unmanned aircraft used mostly in a military context, it is now used colloquially to designate any type of aerial unmanned vehicle.

UAV

UAV is the acronym for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. UAV is a term used among professionals to refer to a drone for non-recreational purposes. UAVs are able to fly remotely or autonomously. So, is UAV a drone? Basically, Yes. The two terms are often used interchangeably.

Many professionals in the industry believe UAVs need to have autonomous flight capabilities, whereas drones do not. Therefore, all UAVs are drones, but Not all drones are UAVs.

Basically, the UAV is a component of the UAS, since it refers to only the vehicle/aircraft itself.

UAS

UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) is an aircraft and its associated elements which are operated with no pilot on board. An unmanned aircraft is a component of a UAS.

UAS is a complete system that includes the unmanned aircraft (not only UAV or Drone), the person on the ground controlling the flight, and the system in place that connects both of them.

The term UAS encompasses all aircraft flown without a pilot on board that operates as part of a larger system. This includes RPAS, autonomous aircraft, and model aircraft. Autonomous aircraft differ from RPAS in that they do not permit the intervention of a human pilot to fulfill their intended flight; whereas model aircraft are distinguished by their recreational use.

RPAS

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) employs the new term RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) for remotely-piloted unmanned aircraft.

An RPAS consists of a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), remote pilot station (RPS), command and control (C2) link, and any other components as specified in the type design.

RPAS is a subset of UAS. Aviation agencies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the European Safety Agency (EASA) use RPAS. However, this term doesn’t apply to autonomous aircraft, which would still be called UAVs.

UA/RPA

UA (Unmanned Aircraft) is an aircraft with no pilot on board. RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) is an aircraft where the flying pilot is not on board the aircraft instead control it remotely. RPA is a subcategory of Unmanned Aircraft (UA).

The term drone serves as an informal, popular, and generic substitute for UA or RPA.

The terms Unmanned Aircraft (UA) or Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) are used to describe the aircraft itself, whereas the term Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) or Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) is generally used to describe the entire operating equipment including the aircraft, the control station from where the aircraft is operated and the wireless data link.

sUAS

The FAA uses the term sUAS (Small UAS) to categorize UAS weighing less than 55 pounds (25 kg) and conducting non-recreational operations. The letter “s” is especially written in lowercase to highlight the small size of UA.

Model Aircraft

A model aircraft is a drone or sUAS used for recreational purposes only, subject to applicable requirements. The FAA requires that the drone must weigh no more than 55 pounds, be flown within visual line of sight of the person operating the aircraft, and be flown for hobby or recreational purposes.