The booming drone sector

The emergence of hunter-killer and surveillance drones as revolutionary new weapons in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in counterterrorism operations in places such as Pakistan and Yemen, has spawned a multibillion-dollar industry.

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Matt Keennon, program director for AeroVironment, displays the Nano Air Vehicle, also known as the Nano Hummingbird, in New York. AeroVironment is developing the Nano Hummingbird under a research contract sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency of the Defense Department. The aircraft uses biological mimicry on a small scale and is aimed at someday providing reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities in urban environments.

Paul Taggart / Bloomberg News

The Nano Hummingbird, developed by AeroVironment, for DARPA. The prototype has a wingspan of 6.5 inches and weighs two-thirds of an ounce.

/ AP

Matt Keennon, program director for AeroVironment, demonstrates the Nano Air Vehicle, also known as the Nano Hummingbird, in New York.

Paul Taggart / Bloomberg News

Tom Herring, senior vice president and general manager of unmanned aircraft systems for AeroVironment, speaks during a demonstration of the Nano Hummingbird in New York.

Paul Taggart / Bloomberg News

Abraham Karem stands with the Albatross drone at Karem Air in Lake Forest, Calif. Karem built the Albatross in his garage. His work led to the invention of the Predator drone, used by military forces around the world.

Bret Hartman / For The Washington Post

Paul MacCready demonstrates his one-gram ornithopter during National Engineers Week at Mississippi State University in 1999. MacCready was the founder of AeroVironment, and his interest in human-powered aviation in the 1970s eventually led to his company’s work with drone technology.

Fred Faulk / AP

The Puma AE drone was developed by AeroVironment.

Courtesy of AeroVironment

Air Force Maj. Casey Tidgewell inspects an MQ-9 Reaper as he performs a preflight check at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nev. The Reaper is the Air Force's first "hunter-killer" unmanned aerial vehicle, designed to engage time-sensitive targets on the battlefield as well as provide intelligence and surveillance.

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

An MQ-9 Reaper takes off at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nev. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems makes the Predator drone and the next-generation Reaper.

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

An MQ-9 Reaper takes off on a training mission at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nev. The Reaper will succeed the Predator as the Air Force’s primary unmanned aerial vehicle.

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

A crew chief from the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron completes a post-flight inspection of the RQ-1 Predator after one of its sorties at Balad Air Base in Iraq.

U.S. Air Force / Getty Images

The MQ-9 Predator B takes off at Libby Army Airfield at Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Ariz. The lethal, remotely piloted machine that can circle above the enemy for nearly a day before controllers thousands of miles away in the southwestern United States launch Hellfire missiles toward targets they are watching on video screens.

Gary Williams / Getty Images

The Air Force's Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle.

U.S. Air Force / Getty Images

An RQ-4 Global Hawk landing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif.

John Schwab / AP

The Global Hawk is unveiled at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Capable of staying aloft for more than 30 hours, the computer-controlled, high-altitude drone is best known for its surveillance role in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been used to monitor wildfires in the United States.

Reed Saxon / AP

The Raven. Since 2003, AeroVironment has won four bidding contests for drone contracts and now dominates the mini-drone industry with its Raven, Wasp and Puma systems.

/ AP

A Puma AE drone.

Courtesy of AeroVironment.

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