drone

drone

drone or remotely piloted vehicle, a pilotless craft guided by remote control. Aircraft, ships, and land vehicles can be designed or outfitted as drones, although underwater vessels—both piloted and pilotless—are usually called submersibles . Small, relatively inexpensive military drones are used as targets in combat practice, while high-performance models may be used in hazardous reconnaissance missions and to carry and launch missiles against enemy targets without exposing pilots and their far more expensive aircraft to antiaircraft fire. Depending on the mission, drones can be equipped with armament, radar, video cameras, lasers, or sensors for chemical or biological weapons. Guidance of the drone can originate from an airplane, a ship, a ground station, or a satellite link. Building upon the successful use of drones in the Second Persian Gulf War, the Homeland Security Department is planning to use unmanned aircraft to track drug smugglers, illegal immigrants, and terrorists along the U.S. borders. Contemplated civilian uses include replacing stationary video cameras and sensors for traffic control, for monitoring crops, to help fight forest fires, and for atmospheric research.

Early attempts to use unmanned aerial vehicles are documented as early as the U.S. Civil War. Both Union and Confederate troops launched balloons loaded with explosives in the hope that the balloons would come down inside ammunition or supply depots and explode, but the balloons were at the mercy of the prevailing winds and proved largely ineffective. Toward the end of World War II the Japanese launched similarly ineffective high-altitude balloons loaded with incendiary and other explosives in the hope that winds would carry them to the United States, where they would start forest fires. A U.S. project at about the same time, called "Operation Aphrodite," involved using a modified manned aircraft as a cruise missile. The pilot would take off, get the plane to altitude, pass control to a manned aircraft through a radio link, and then bail out. The somewhat more successful German V-1 was essentially an early cruise missile , not a remote-controlled drone. By the Vietnam War the technology to launch and control drones had evolved. Initially, pilotless aircraft equipped with video cameras flew over North Vietnam to provide reconnaissance data; drones were later used to drop leaflets, interfere with electronic communications, and locate surface-to-air missile batteries. By the early 21st cent., small, hand-launched drones were used by U.S. ground forces to scout otherwise obscured areas, and very small bird- and insectlike drones were under experimental development

Bibliography: See study by N. Friedman (2010).

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"drone." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"drone." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-drone.html

"drone." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-drone.html

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drone

drone / drōn/ • v. [intr.] make a continuous low humming sound: in the far distance a machine droned. ∎  speak tediously in a dull monotonous tone: he reached for another beer while Jim droned on. ∎  move with a continuous humming sound: traffic droned up and down the street. • n. 1. a low continuous humming sound: he nodded off to the drone of the car engine. ∎ inf. a monotonous speech: only twenty minutes of the hour-long drone had passed. ∎  a continuous musical note, typically of low pitch. ∎  a musical instrument, or part of one, sounding such a continuous note, in particular (also drone pipe) a pipe in a bagpipe or (also drone string) a string in an instrument such as a hurdy-gurdy or a sitar. 2. a male bee in a colony of social bees, which does no work but can fertilize a queen. ∎ fig. a person who does no useful work and lives off others. 3. a remote-controlled pilotless aircraft or missile.

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"drone." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"drone." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-drone.html

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drone

drone male of the honey-bee. OE. drā́n, drǣ́n; corr. to OS. drān, dreno, MLG. drāne, drōne, (with e-grade) OHG. treno (MHG. tren(e), G. dial. träne), prob. f. *dran- *dren *drun- boom (cf. MDu. drōnen, Du. dreunen, LG. drönen, Icel. drynja roar), with which Gr. anthrḗnē wild bee, tenthrēnē kind of wasp, have been connected. The Eng. form drone (XV; cf. ME., mod. dial. drane) is perh. — (M)LG. drōne. Cf. drone hum, buzz (sb. and vb.). XVI.

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T. F. HOAD. "drone." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "drone." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-drone.html

T. F. HOAD. "drone." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-drone.html

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drone

drone a male bee in a colony of social bees, which does no work but can fertilize a queen; in figurative usage (from the early 16th century), a person who does no useful work and lives off others.

In the stories of P. G. Wodehouse, the Drones Club was the club frequented by Bertie Wooster and his friends.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "drone." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "drone." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-drone.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "drone." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-drone.html

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drone

drone A fertile male in a colony of social bees, especially the honeybee (Apis mellifera). The drones die after mating with the queen bee as the male reproductive organs explode within the female.

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"drone." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"drone." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-drone.html

"drone." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-drone.html

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drone

drone n.a vehicle designed to be remotely controlled during operations on land or sea or in the air. See also remotely piloted vehicle; unmanned aerial vehicle.

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"drone." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"drone." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-drone.html

"drone." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-drone.html

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drone

drone The male of ants, bees, and wasps, whose only function is to mate with fertile females: the drone contributes nothing to the maintenance of the colony.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "drone." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "drone." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-drone.html

MICHAEL ALLABY. "drone." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-drone.html

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drone

drone The male of ants, bees, and wasps, whose only function is to mate with fertile females: the drone contributes nothing to the maintenance of the colony.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "drone." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "drone." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-drone.html

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drone

drone. Pipe or pipes sounding continuous note of fixed pitch as a permanent bass, e.g. of bagpipes. Hence drone bass applied to orch. mus.

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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "drone." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "drone." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-drone.html

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "drone." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-drone.html

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drone

dronealone, atone, Beaune, bemoan, blown, bone, Capone, clone, Cohn, Cologne, condone, cone, co-own, crone, drone, enthrone, flown, foreknown, foreshown, groan, grown, half-tone, home-grown, hone, Joan, known, leone, loan, lone, moan, Mon, mown, ochone, outflown, outgrown, own, phone, pone, prone, Rhône, roan, rone, sewn, shown, Simone, Sloane, Soane, sone, sown, stone, strown, throne, thrown, tone, trombone, Tyrone, unbeknown, undersown, zone •Dione • backbone • hambone •breastbone • aitchbone •tail bone, whalebone •cheekbone • shin bone • hip bone •wishbone • splint bone • herringbone •thigh bone • jawbone • marrowbone •knuckle bone • collarbone •methadone • headphone • cellphone •heckelphone • payphone • Freefone •radio-telephone, telephone •videophone • francophone •megaphone • speakerphone •allophone • Anglophone • xylophone •gramophone • homophone •vibraphone • microphone •saxophone • answerphone •dictaphone •sarrusophone, sousaphone •silicone • pine cone • snow cone •flyblown • cyclone • violone •hormone • pheromone • Oenone •chaperone • progesterone •testosterone

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"drone." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"drone." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-drone.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Drone warfare and the law of armed conflict.
Magazine article from: Denver Journal of International Law and Policy; 12/22/2010
Drone strikes increase after Mullen's statement.
Newspaper article from: The Nation (Karachi, Pakistan); 10/5/2011
Drone strikes to continue, US senators make it clear.
Newspaper article from: The Nation (Karachi, Pakistan); 1/8/2010

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