It has become common practice in today's world to call those small man-made flying things in the sky as "drones". Let us dive deep into the meaning for this in the professional world where those flying thingy's exist. 

What is a drone? 

Without stretching too far in to the origin of things, a drone as defined in dictionaries, is any of the following: -

• A bee that does not work but indulges in other worldly pleasures. 🐝
• A person who does no useful work but instead lives off others. 
• A continuous low humming sound.
• A remote controlled pilotless air borne vehicle
• A remote controlled or autonomous vehicle designed for use underwater

What is a UAS?* 

UAS = Unmanned Aircraft System

I believe this term is quite self explanatory, but this is a blog and its job is to, quite literally; explain....

The term Unmanned Aircraft System is considered to properly define the existence of the objects that have more commonly come to be known as drones. Let's break it down into the words:-

1. Unmanned = does not have humans on board
2. Aircraft = flying object (that has been crafted by humans and obviously not a biological bird)
3. System = the collective aircraft, controller and, associated control methods

Drone / UAS, does it matter? 

While in normal conversation it may seem to matter, essentially, it helps classification of systems for regulatory purposes. 

In recent years the popularity of "drones" combined with the increase in relatively cheaper systems and easy availability in the consumer market, has lead to increased safety and security concerns. If you have not turned a blind eye to the recent ongoings of commercial aviation, you will know that there have been numerous occasions where these UAS systems have nearly caused catastrophic consequences. 

What really made everyone take things seriously is the idea that anyone could operate a system, purchased from the consumer market, for a very cheap price. Furthermore, the person could then use the UAS system to jeopardise the safety of 500+ passengers that sit comfortably on a passenger jet taking off nearby. Meanwhile the persons onboard the jet or even the Air Traffic Control attempting to safely guide the jet, have no idea of the impeding danger or the even the location of the perpetrator, who could be operating the system from 2+ miles away. 

So, what does this mean? 

the regulatory bodies have taken a calculated step in coining the term that define these systems. That way they are able to monitor the sale and operation of any such goods in the consumer market, and are therefore able to regulate the industry, as such. 

Can I still call it a drone? 

Absolutely! You are free to do whatever you want. It may also be possible for you to make sense on most occasions through the power of contextual referencing. In everyday conversations, I also make use of the easy one syllable term. 

"Drone"

Simple and frankly speaking, the term drone is quite catchy too. Despite this, I make regular efforts to substitute "Drone" for "UAS". It helps by making me sound more professional as well as helping spread awareness about the official terminology being used in the industry. 

To Summarise 

If I were to give any advice, it would be as follows. 

"DRONE" ❎

! Stop calling it a drone !

"Unmanned Aircraft System(UAS)" ✅

The appropriate term would be Unmanned Aircraft System. 

I would highly recommend getting into the habit of calling it a UAS* instead of the lazy term drone.  

* I wasn't sure it would be "a UAS" or "an UAS". i went with "a UAS" in the end because it sounds right. Maybe I am wrong. As long as you understand what I mean to say. (Power of context)