Aviation as people know it today is a mature but very young technology as time goes. Considering that the 100th anniversary of flight was celebrated just a few years ago in 2003, millions of people fly from city to city or from nation to nation and across the oceans and around the world effortlessly and economically. Additionally, they have space travel that has taken them beyond the atmosphere to the moon and Mars and beyond. As they look at aviation, they generally think in terms of airlines and passenger travel. However, there are many other applications of aircraft beyond carrying passengers. Aircraft are used for transporting packaged goods, mail, foods, medical supplies, and other materials. But there are other applications that aircraft are used for, such as observation, mapping, weather, and reconnaissance missions. Some aircraft are piloted, and others are remotely controlled and are called unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs. Here the author focuses on the highlights of UAVs. These unique aircraft may be small in size, approaching something similar to recreational radio controlled models but including sophisticated electronics packages for surveillance, or may be very large remotely piloted aircraft such as the Global Hawk or Altair UAVs. Typically, aircraft are categorized by the role for which they were designed, such as civil, military, experimental, or special purpose.