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As unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) fill a wider and wider variety of civic, scientific, and military roles—analysts predict that the UAV market will be the most dynamic growth sector of the decade in terms of the world aerospace industry. As a result, UAV research and development will contribute to a major portion of spending in the next decades—with a significant emphasis on propulsion technologies. This book will cover several UAV propulsion technologies, ranging from modification of conservative designs to assessing the potential of unconventional arrangements. Each chapter provides a glimpse of how researchers are leveraging different fuel types, powerplants, and system architectures in the pursuit of powerful, efficient, and robust UAV propulsion.

It is ironic that as aircraft have gotten more sophisticated, much of their manufacture has remained manual. However, as orders for commercial aircraft have dramatically increased over the past years and are expected to remain on that trajectory, the competition has become not just about how fast new technologies can be put on the aircraft, but about how fast the aircraft can be manufactured and delivered. Enter ever increasing automation and robotics. Just as it has taken multiple years to reach the sophisticated content levels on current generation aircraft, so too has it been necessary to continually learn new ways and means to increase automation on the manufacturing floor. For both aircraft on the flight line and on the production line, safety is paramount.

Aviation propulsion development continues to rely upon fossil fuels for the vast majority of commercial and military applications. Until these fuels are depleted or abandoned, burning them will continue to jeopardize air quality and provoke increased regulation. With those challenges in mind, research and development of more efficient and electric propulsion systems will expand. Fuel-cell technology is but one example that addresses such emission and resource challenges, and others, including negligible acoustic emissions and the potential to leverage current infrastructure models. For now, these technologies are consigned to smaller aircraft applications, but are expected to mature toward use in larger aircraft. Additionally, measures such as electric/conventional hybrid configurations will ultimately increase efficiencies and knowledge of electric systems while minimizing industrial costs.