CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES DEDICATED TO AERIAL INTELLIGENCE

Abstract

One of the main functions of unmanned aerial vehicles is aerial intelligence reconnaissance. It plays a leading role in time of peace, crisis or war. The reason for this is that without reliable and up-to-date data, planning of operations is much harder, less effective and, in many aspects, even impossible. In the military aspect, the aim of air intelligence is to provide data about the enemy,
as well as to judge the results of the operations conducted by own forces. The purpose of this article is to identify tactical and technical parameters characterizing unmanned aerial vehicles used in the Polish Armed Forces, intended for air reconnaissance. With this in mind, the article firstly describes the essence of air reconnaissance, then establishes the role and place of UAV in air reconnaissance, characterizes the platforms used by the Polish military, and then compares and contrasts them in terms of such parameters as wingspan, maximum takeoff weight, cruising speed, maximum speed, flight duration and
operational range. It helped to illustrate the differences in their construction, identify certain relationships as well as characteristics and draw final conclusions. In the article have been used methods of research such as analysis, synthesis, generalization and comparison.