From small kamikazes to giant spy drones, a look at the monsters of the air

They can range in size from a hand's breadth to the 13.5 meters of the American Global Hawk (with a wingspan of 35 meters). They can weigh less than a kilogram or hundreds of tons. Some are suicide drones launched like kamikazes, others lurk in the sky to gather enemy intelligence. But they all share one characteristic: they are pilotless and remotely controlled. Almost every army has them, but the United States, Ukraine, Iran, Russia, Turkey, and China have developed some of the most widely used models. Here's a compilation of the main aerial drones that have changed the rules of warfare.

The most popular military drones

FPV  (First person view)

First-person view (FPV). These are the smallest drones, in which a pilot controls the vehicle in real time using a video feed from an onboard camera. They are marketed for many uses and in many countries, and are also used by the military industry.

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Switchblade 300

A lightweight suicide drone deployed from a tube that can operate as a reconnaissance drone, but can also act as a kamikaze equipped with an explosive payload such as a hand grenade that can detonate at varying distances from the target, generating fragment dispersion.

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Lancet

Russian-designed kamikaze drones operate as precision missiles or artillery, flying to attack tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery. In combat mode, they can be armed with high-explosive or fragmentation warheads. They have caused widespread destruction in Ukraine.

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Vampire / Baga Yaga

It is a six-rotor hexacopter manufactured by Ukraine that can carry explosives or supplies for operations against ground forces. Equipped with thermal imaging cameras, they are primarily used at night.

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Shahed-136 / Geran-2

This Iranian suicide drone, a kamikaze-type aircraft, can carry an explosive warhead and strike targets with precision. Shahed is the Iranian designation, and Geran is the Russian one. Russia has used it extensively in Ukraine.

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Bayraktar TB2

Turkish drones that wreaked havoc in the hands of the Kyiv government against the Russian army at the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Azerbaijan also used them in the second Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020.

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Qods Mohajer-6

An Iranian drone that Russia has also acquired for use in the fight in Ukraine. It can carry two or four precision-guided munitions, with a payload of up to 150 kilograms.

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Hermes 900

A drone manufactured by Israel for various military uses, with a flight time of over 30 hours and a range exceeding 9,000 km, carrying a payload of 300 kg. It has also been purchased by the militaries of Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, and Switzerland.

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MQ-9 Reaper

It can carry heavy weaponry and is equipped with sensors, high-resolution cameras, and infrared technology. It is controlled from a ground station by a pilot and a sensor operator, but can take off and land autonomously using GPS and satellite control. It is also used by the Spanish Army.

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CH-5 Rainbow

The Chinese drone that imitates the American Reaper and is developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology CorporationIt can carry 16 missiles at once and launch them from an altitude of 8 kilometers. It has an operational autonomy of up to 60 hours.

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RQ-4 Global Hawk

It is one of the largest operational drones in the world (its wingspan is almost 40 meters). It flies at high altitudes to collect data for intelligence services with an endurance of up to 32 hours. It has been used in Ukraine.

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Ti-141 Strizh

The Tupolev Tu-141 is a Soviet reconnaissance drone that was used during the 1980s on the western borders of the USSR. Since 2014, the Ukrainian army has resumed using it in Donbas.