plural UAVs
: rpv
UAVs, as the Pentagon calls them, are operated not unlike the hobbyist's remote-controlled airplanes; soldiers on the ground man computer stations with controls that fly the aircraft.Daniel G. Dupont

Examples of UAV in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The idea comes from the world of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) concepts here on Earth, but is designed for exploring another world: Mars. Leonard David, Space.com, 24 July 2025 Report In separate press releases on Tuesday, the Joint Staff reported that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was twice detected off Taiwan's east coast. Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025 Ukraine and Russia continued to exchange UAV attacks overnight. Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 5 July 2025 Iran has pledged not to back down from war with the American ally and retaliated against bombings with a series of UAV attacks on Friday night. Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 21 June 2025 Advertisement Rashid was key in the operations of Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programme, mostly consisting of the use of drones in warfare. Callum Sutherland, Time, 13 June 2025 China has also been investing heavily in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and swarm technologies in a bid to achieve air superiority in a wartime scenario—for instance, an invasion of Beijing-claimed Taiwan. Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 May 2025 The lack of geofencing means drones will no longer immediately land or fly back to the pilot upon entering restricted airspace, leaving it up to individual airports to identify and disable a UAV flying within the path of an aircraft. Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2025 In January 2024 the unit expanded again and became an independent Marine Corps drone battalion, taking the name of 14th Strike UAV Battalion. David Hambling, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

unmanned aerial vehicle

First Known Use

1986, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of UAV was in 1986

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“UAV.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/UAV. Accessed 3 Aug. 2025.

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