Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, have frequently been involved in military operations. Non-military UAVs have often been reported as causing hazards to aircraft, or to people or property on the ground. Safety concerns have been raised due to the potential for an ingested drone to rapidly disable an aircraft engine, and several near-misses and verified collisions have involved hobbyist drone operators flying in violation of aviation safety regulations.

UAVs have historically had a much higher loss rate than manned military aircraft. In addition to anti-aircraft weapons, UAVs are vulnerable to power and communications link losses.

Notable military events involving UAVs

In August 1956, several Northrop F-89 Scorpions attempted to shoot down a runaway Grumman F6F-5K drone in Southern California, failing to bring it down with rocket fire. It later crashed in a desert area. The Israeli IAI Scout drone was operated in combat missions by the South African Defence Force against Angola during Operation Protea in 1981.Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Robotic Air Warfare 1917–2007, By Steven Zaloga, Osprey Publishing, 19 July 2011, page 22 UAVs operated by the Israeli Air Force were instrumental during Operation Mole Cricket 19 in 1982. The IAI Scout and Tadiran Mastiff were used to identify SAM sites, while Samson decoy UAVs were used to activate and confuse Syrian radar.Grant, Rebecca. "The Bekaa Valley War". Air Force Magazine Online 85 (June 2002). Retrieved 22 August 2009. During the Gulf War, Iraqi Army forces surrendered to UAVs from the .Federation of American Scientists. Pioneer Short Range (SR) UAV . Retrieved 26 November 2006.National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution. 14 September 2001. Retrieved 26 November 2006. A few days before the U.S. Senate vote on the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution in October 2002, about 75 senators were told in closed session that Saddam Hussein had the means of delivering biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction via UAVs that could be launched from ships off the Atlantic coast to attack U.S. eastern seaboard cities. Colin Powell suggested in his presentation to the United Nations that they had been transported out of Iraq and could be launched against the U.S.Senator Bill Nelson (28 January 2004) "New Information on Iraq's Possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction" , Congressional Record It was later revealed that Iraq's UAV fleet consisted of only a few outdated Czech training drones.Lowe, C. (16 December 2003) Defense Tech At the time, there was a vigorous dispute within the intelligence community as to whether the CIA's conclusions about Iraqi UAVs were accurate. The U.S. Air Force, the agency most familiar with UAVs, denied outright that Iraq possessed any offensive UAV capability.Hammond, J. (14 November 2005) "The U.S. 'intelligence failure' and Iraq's UAVs" The Yirmeyahu Review The first targeted UAV killing outside a conventional battlefield by the U.S. took place in the Marib district of Yemen on 3 November 2002, when six alleged terrorists were killed in their SUV by a UAV-fired missile. The command centre was in Tampa, Florida. The first-ever dogfight involving a UAV occurred in December 2002 when an Iraqi MiG-25 and an American RQ-1 Predator fired missiles at each other. The MiG-25's missile destroyed the RQ-1. The U.S. deployed UAVs in Yemen to search for and kill Anwar al-Awlaki, an American and Yemeni imam, firing at and failing to kill him at least once before he was killed in a UAV-launched missile attack in Yemen on 30 September 2011. The targeted killing of an American citizen was seen as unprecedented, but nearly nine years earlier in 2002, U.S. citizen Kemal Darwish was one of six men killed in Yemen by the first UAV strike outside a war zone. In December 2011, Iran captured an American RQ-170 that flew over Iran and rejected President Barack Obama's request to return it to the U.S. Iranian officials claim to have recovered data from the U.S. surveillance aircraft. However, it is not clear how Iran brought it down. There have also been claims that Iran spoofed the GPS signal used by the UAVHorgen, John (March 2013) Unmanned Flight National Geographic, Retrieved 20 February 2013 and hijacked it into landing on an Iranian runway. In November 2024, a series of unauthorized drone activities was detected over and near four U.S. Air Force bases in the United Kingdom. In late 2024, there were multiple UAV incursions over military airspace as part of the 2024 United States drone sightings.

Civilian incidents with manned aircraft

Verified collisions 3 September 1990 A man operating a R/C plane buzzed and deliberately rammed a Goodyear Blimp, resulting in a 3-foot puncture in the envelope. The blimp landed safely despite the damage and the operator of the R/C aircraft was arrested.

21 September 2017 A civilian DJI Phantom 4 collided with a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in the evening over the eastern shore of Staten Island, New York City, United States. The helicopter was one of two with the 82nd Airborne Division flying out of Fort Bragg on duty for the United Nations General Assembly. The helicopters were able to continue flying and landed at Linden Airport. Nobody was hurt, but part of the UAV was found at the bottom of the main rotor system. In December 2017, the National Transportation Safety Board issued an accident report into the collision, finding the pilot of the UAV at fault. The UAV operator deliberately flew the UAV 2.5 miles away from himself and was unaware of the helicopters' presence. The operator did not know of the collision until contacted by the NTSB and when interviewed by them showed only a general cursory awareness of the regulations. There was also a temporary flight restriction in place, from which the Black Hawk (but not the UAV) was exempt. UAVs are prohibited from flying beyond the pilot's line of sight under FAA regulations.

12 October 2017 A Beechcraft King Air A100 of Skyjet Aviation collided with a UAV as the former was approaching Jean Lesage Airport near Quebec City, Canada. The aircraft landed safely despite its wing being hit. The aircraft had flown from Rouyn-Noranda Airport to Jean Lesage Airport with six passengers and two crew. A spokeswoman for the Quebec City Police said that neither the UAV nor the operator had been found. It had been flying at 1,500 feet—five times the maximum altitude that UAVs are permitted to fly in Canada. Regulations banning the flying of UAVs near airports had been introduced earlier in 2017. Minister of Transport Marc Garneau released a statement saying "Although the vast majority of drone operators fly responsibly, it was our concern for incidents like this that prompted me to take action and issue interim safety measures restricting where recreational drones could be flown. I would like to remind drone operators that endangering the safety of an aircraft is extremely dangerous and a serious offence."

4 June 2018 An Aérospatiale AS350BA helicopter, (N611TC) collided with a DJI Mavic 2 Zoom during an off-road truck race near Johnson Valley, California. The helicopter landed without incident and suffered significant damage which required the aircraft to be grounded and hauled off on a trailer. The drone operator was hired to fly the event and was flying the sUAS Beyond Visual Line of Sight at the time of the crash. He had not attended the air safety briefing. The drone struck the helicopter's tail rotor, causing it to fail. The pilot was able to land safely with no injuries. Both the helicopter and UAS were part of the aerial assests of the race teams chasing the off-road vehicles. A lack of coordination / communication lead to the collision. Video of the crash and the resulting damage provides documentation of the event.

10 August 2018 In the first-ever recorded mid-air collision between a UAV and a hot air balloon, the balloon, carrying a certified pilot and two passengers, was struck by a DJI Mavic Pro while flying near the Teton County Fairgrounds in Driggs, Idaho, United States. The drone was destroyed after its rotors were sheared off on contact with the balloon's envelope and load lines, and fell to earth; the balloon suffered no significant damage and landed safely with no injuries to the pilot or passengers. The inexperienced hobbyist drone operator reportedly lost sight of the balloon in the aircraft's monitor and was operating within of Driggs–Reed Memorial Airport without notifying air traffic control, a violation of Federal Aviation Regulations; the balloon pilot had relied on radio communication with nearby manned aircraft and air traffic control to avoid other air traffic. The balloon pilot chose to report the incident to the National Transportation Safety Board in lieu of notifying the local sheriff's department, stating that she hoped "this incident helps create a conversation of respect for nature, the airspace, and rules and regulations." The incident is currently under investigation.

10 August 2021 A Cessna 172 of Canadian Flyers International Inc. registered as C-GKWL collided with a DJI Matrice 210 operated by the York Regional Police while on approach to Buttonville Municipal Airport. The Cessna landed without incident and suffered major damage, including a bent airbox, a damaged engine cowling, and a propeller strike.

7 July 2025 A Texas Army National Guard Blackhawk collided with a DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise operated by a Texas Ranger while assisting with the Kerrville, Texas flash flood search and recovery effort. The Blackhawk landed without incident and suffered nearly no damage but was out of service for 2 hours for inspection. City of Kerrville authorities initially blamed the collision on a private drone; they had laid claim that the drone was a private drone operating illegally in a Temporary Flight Restricted area. The drone was cleared for flight within the TFR and being operated by a Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol officer performing a mapping mission as aid to the flood emergency effort.

Alleged collisions 17 April 2016 The pilot of British Airways flight BA727 reported a collision with a UAV to Metropolitan Police. The Airbus A320 was approaching Heathrow Airport when the collision happened. None of the 132 passengers or 5 crew were injured. After an inspection by engineers, the aircraft was cleared to take off for its next flight. Members of the British government, as well as the Labour Party and BALPA, called for urgent action, including a register of drone users and geo-fencing of airports. In late April 2016, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin told MPs that experts believed that the incident was not related to UAVs. There was no damage to the aircraft and it unclear whether a plastic bag or a UAV was to blame. An investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch had been closed due to a lack of evidence. Police had searched a "wide area" of Richmond and found nothing.

13 December 2018 The crew of an Aeroméxico Boeing 737-800 operating as Flight 773 heard a "pretty loud bang" on approach to Tijuana International Airport, and after a safe landing, the nose of the aircraft was found to be damaged. The airline has not positively determined the cause, but the incident is being investigated as a drone strike.

Near-misses

Austria

In August 2016, a rescue helicopter carrying a car crash victim to Klagenfurt Hospital had to take evasive action when a UAV flew within metres of it. Local police were unable to determine the identity of the UAV's pilot.

Canada

In March 2014, a remote-controlled helicopter was reported by the crew of a Boeing 777 flying from their craft at Vancouver International Airport.