Definition

Noun: An aircraft that flies without a human pilot on board, typically controlled remotely by an operator on the ground or via pre-programmed autonomous systems.

Usage

The term "pilotless aircraft" is a formal and descriptive noun phrase used to categorize any aircraft designed to operate without a human pilot in the cockpit. It is a broad category that includes various types of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Examples

• The military deployed a pilotless aircraft for reconnaissance over the area.
• Modern technology allows for the development of sophisticated pilotless aircraft for package delivery.
• Researchers are studying the use of pilotless aircraft for monitoring wildlife populations.

Advanced Usage

• "to operate a pilotless aircraft": to control or manage the flight of a drone.
  • Specialized training is required to operate a pilotless aircraft safely in civilian airspace.

Variants and Related Words

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) (n): A more common technical term for a pilotless aircraft.
  • The UAV completed its surveillance mission successfully.
• Drone (n): A common, often informal, synonym for a pilotless aircraft or UAV.
  • He flew his drone to take aerial photographs of the park.
• Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) (n): A term emphasizing that the aircraft is controlled by a remote human pilot.
  • The RPA was guided back to its base by an operator hundreds of miles away.

Synonyms

• Unmanned aircraft: An aircraft without a crew or passengers on board.
• Robot aircraft: An aircraft controlled automatically by computers.

Related Phrases

• Autonomous aircraft: An aircraft capable of performing tasks and navigating without real-time human input, a subset of pilotless aircraft.
  • The autonomous aircraft followed its pre-programmed flight path.

Noun

1. an aircraft without a pilot that is operated by remote control