Operational and technological directions for unmanned aircraft systems development

Unmanned Aircraft Systems are continuously delivering new and enhanced battlefield capabilities to the military sphere. While the demand for unmanned systems remains at a relatively high level, it is expected that a number of operational and technological factors will further influence unmanned program development in the nearest future. The purpose of this paper is to articulate a vision for the continued development of unmanned systems technology across military applications. This article establishes a technological and an operational vision for the next 25 years and outlines actions and technologies for military experts and industry to pursue to efficiently align with this vision.