ABSTRACT
Of necessity, the design of any given unmanned aircraft system (UAS) will correspond directly to the intended mission of the platform—in the case of unmanned aircraft (UA), form truly follows function. Any UA that does not conform to this basic principle will fail to optimize mission goals. At the most basic level, the UA exists only as a platform to carry the payload necessary to successfully accomplish mission goals. The mission, in turn, will determine factors such as the type of payload (number, weight, and configuration of sensors), endurance and, possibly, aircraft structure and configuration. As a rule of thumb, the design process should begin with consideration of the type of mission that is to be flown, but economic factors cannot be ignored. In general, as the size of the platform increases, so do the costs associated with both manufacturing and operations (e.g., those expenses associated with maintenance, support, and operation).
