manufacturing, and more. And the newest technology is even more advanced than you know.

The official name for the remote controlled "drones" we know and love/hate is UAVs or

unmanned aerial vehicles, though the military calls them Unmanned Aerial Systems or UASs.

The word "drone" implies something which operates on its own, though most military drones or

UAVs are simply remote controlled -- but for the sake of simplicity we'll call them drones

anyway…

The first weaponized drone was flown in 1994 -- the Predator MQ-1; but advances in the

last 20 years have been incredible. Take, for example, the largest drone around today:

a 757-sized UAV called Triton operated by the U.S. Navy. Its 130-foot wingspan and fuel

efficiency allows it to fly 2,000 nautical miles in a mission, identify ships, de-ice

its wings, and navigate turbulence -- ALL without human interaction. The thing can even

be struck by lightning and still operate.

Most flying drones operate for 20 hours and are pre-programmed to fly to a specific area

and look around, or piloted to a mission by a person in a ground station. The military

controls these giant aircraft from hundreds of miles away via satellite communications,

GPS and the aircraft's onboard computers. This combination of ground and space-based

systems can affect how long information takes to get to the pilot -- Predators took a long

as five minutes to get detailed information, making the UAV system extra important, but

today, the newest drones can provide 360 degree video, infrared, and radar data: all live.

Most UASs include line-of-site control for take-off and landing, and satellite control

during long flights and missions which would go out of range of a tower or antenna. Obviously

direct control is faster, satellites have a 1-second delay... but if somehow the signal

is lost from the human pilot, the drone can be programmed to fly in circles, or return

to its take-off point. It can even land on its own if it has to.

Drones aren't only airborne. The drone boat is a true autonomous and artificially intelligent

helper boat. These drone boats are programmed to swarm targets without human instruction

-- they can network with each other, and though they're unarmed, are supposed to isolate a

craft or intercept enemy fire without putting people in harms way. Another naval drone uses

biomimicry technology to look like sharks or fish! These drones can operate in 10 inches

of water or dive to 300 feet either tethered to a ship, or autonomously; only surfacing

to communicate. They're unarmed, but key for intelligence gathering.

The future of drones is getting crazy. Virtual Reality is coming, where pilots can "look"

through cameras and pilot aircraft or boats like a video game. It's already come to commercial

drones used for Star Wars pod-racing-style games. But the U.S. Air Force is pulling out

all the stops with their "secret" space shuttle. The X-37B launched in 2012 and orbited the

earth for 500 days autonomously, returning and landing on its own in 2014. No one knows

what it's for… but it's technically a drone. And people allegedly spotted Northrop-Grumman's

flying wings over texas, a type of aircraft rumored for a long while, even tested by NASA,

but still classified, if it exists at all.

Drones have advanced so much in 20 years… will another 20 have them delivering pizzas,

filming football games, going to asteroids and flying us around the globe. Who knows,

but one things for sure, they're here to stay. There is something that could dampen drones

in our time, if the people put their foot down and stop their use in the military, but

it doesn't seem like that's going to happen. For more check out TestTube for the Pros and

Cons of Drones in War here. That being said, drones are machines, they're not just for

attacking, plenty of drones are used for good! Seeker has a whole episode about how drones

are making the world a better place. Which you can see here!