33
U.S. startup nails flight test of a drone built for hypersonic speeds
(interestingengineering.com)
this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2026
33 points (90.2% liked)
Technology
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At what point does it stop being a drone and become an unmanned aircraft?
That is what a drone is.
You’re right, but it seems like a poor word for it, not specific enough. Might as well just call it a machine. Drone should be reserved for small and cheapish uavs. Above that they would just be uav and then things like this would be unmanned aircaft.
why? drone is not a specific term either.
Drone has been used for unmanned full sized aircraft since at least WW2. The first flight of the Interstate TDR was in 1942.