Скорость полета Predator невелика, меньше, чем у вертолета, поэтому БЛА очень уязвим от обстрела с земли. Максимальная скорость MQ-1 всего 217 км/ч.
General Atomics RQ-1 Predators from the 432nd Wing at Creech AFB have become the UAV workhorse of current military operations. In addition to continued combat sorties in Iraq and Afghanistan, US Air Force Predators were recently used in conjunction with the international relief efforts after the 2009 earthquake in Haiti surveying areas to determine where assistance was needed or to detect impending landslides.

A Boeing-Insitu Scan Eagle UAV is prepared for launch in a test at the US Navy's Dahlgren, Virginia facility in November 2008. The test was part of Naval Expeditionary Overwatch (NEO) concepts that included the use of unmanned boats and aircraft, all with a common ground station in a HMMWV light truck.

A Ground Station in Tarin Kot, Afghanistan, for Australian Scan Eagle UAVs. In 2006, needing a quick-response UAV capability to support Australian special operations forces in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, Australia leased Scan Eagle systems from Boeing Australia, which are being operated with contractor support.

Artist's impression of an X-47B unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) making an arrested landing on a US Navy carrier. One of the potential advantages of carrier UCAV operations is that landings could be made automatically or each UAV could be 'flown' to the deck by a single pilot in turn, reducing the need for carrier pilot training.

A Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Block 20 UAV is towed to a hangar at Beale AFB, California. The 9th Reconnaissance Wing, based there, is the focal point for US Air Force Global Hawk operations.

A US Army RQ-7 Shadow UAV of the 6th Cavalry Regiment is prepared for an operational mission in Iraq in 2008. The Shadow provides US Army brigades with vital intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.

БПЛА MQ-9 "Риппер"
An MQ-9 Reaper from the 42nd Attack Squadron at Creech AFB. This UAV is carrying four inert training versions of the GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb.

One of the improvements of the MQ-9 Reaper over the RQ-1 Predator is its ability to use a greater range of munitions in the UCAV mission. Here, in an exercise at Creech AFB, Nevada, in 2009, a 500lb GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb has its fins attached. The Predator is unable to carry this weapon.

An Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron UAV being evaluated by US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in El Salvador in May 2009. SOUTHCOM was looking at the Heron for potential use in counter-narcotics surveillance. The Heron was subsequently demonstrated in Brazil, including an Amazonian monitoring mission.

БЛА MQ-8B "Файр Скаут"
A Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout UAV is pictured about to land on the frigate USS McInerney (FFG-8) in May, 2009. This test included the first autonomous operational flight operations from a US Navy warship. Later that year, MQ-8Bs went on an operational deployment with the McInerney on counter-narcotics interdiction duties.

Master Sgt Bryon Griffin launches an AeroVironment RQ-11B Raven UAV at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq. While small enough to be man-portable, the Raven can be equipped with cameras, sensors and communications equipment to perform missions for reconnaissance, surveillance, target identification and battle damage assessment. Its main use by the US Air Force is in airbase security missions.

An AeroVironment FQM-151 Pointer UAV is made ready for launch from the ballistic missile submarine USS Alabama. The UAV, used by US Special Operations Command, was being used in a test of the feasibility of UAV operations from submarines, including those carrying cruise missiles and special forces.