<p>I have recently written a dissertation on non-military drones and the first mention that I could find for what we would consider modern drones used in a context other than direct military action was when, in 1994, they were used as overhead surveillance for NATO envoys in Bosnia.</p>

<p>In terms of any UAV, not necessarily guided aircraft, the incendiary balloons are the earliest example I can think of, however, carrier pigeons were used as early as 1150 according to Wikipedia, so this may qualify.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-14T20:33:23.977Z
Nice. However would the balloons of July 1849 be considered a "modern drone"? For this reason the article talks about UAVs in general rather than just drones!
Nike Dattani
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-14T20:35:16.963Z
@user1271772 my research was limited to drones that can be controlled via radio link, so by these standards an incendiary balloon would not qualify. Excellent question, though, the history of unmanned flight is certainly an interesting one!
Drones and Whatnot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-14T21:21:44.230Z
@user1271772 I think I misunderstood your original question to mean only unmanned, yet manually controlled aircraft. I have amended my original answer.
Drones and Whatnot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-14T21:23:37.737Z
I don't see any amendment to the answer (yet) !
Nike Dattani
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-14T21:25:30.760Z
@user1271772 has it come through now?
Drones and Whatnot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-14T21:26:54.660Z
Yes! There was a lag
Nike Dattani
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-14T21:27:14.030Z
@user1271772 ah okay!
Drones and Whatnot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-14T21:27:33.753Z
Carrier pigeons are, animals right? Can they be considered drones?
Nike Dattani
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-14T21:29:26.373Z
@user1271772 I’m not certain, but I guess you could consider it some form of onboard guidance? It really depends how you want to classify it. I did think it was a bit dubious but it’s the earliest use of anything airborne I can think of.
Drones and Whatnot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-14T20:31:53.880Z
2020-04-21T04:37:27.813Z
2020-04-21T04:37:27.813Z
Drones and Whatnot
<p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_unmanned_aerial_vehicles#Early_development" rel="nofollow noreferrer">history of drones</a> Wikipedia article starts with the Austrian incendiary balloons of July 1849 as the first recorded use of UAVs for the military. </p>

<p>Was this the earliest record of <strong><em>any</em></strong> UAV, whether for military use or not?</p>

<history>
The earliest recorded use of a UAV for military use was in July 1849, but if we include non-military UAVs, was there anything earlier?
Nike Dattani
# The earliest recorded use of a UAV for military use was in July 1849, but if we include non-military UAVs, was there anything earlier?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-04-14)

The [history of username_1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_unmanned_aerial_vehicles#Early_development) Wikipedia article starts with the Austrian incendiary balloons of July 1849 as the first recorded use of UAVs for the military.

Was this the earliest record of ***any*** UAV, whether for military use or not?

**Tags:** history


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-04-14. Score: 1

I have recently written a dissertation on non-military username_1 and the first mention that I could find for what we would consider modern username_1 used in a context other than direct military action was when, in 1994, they were used as overhead surveillance for NATO envoys in Bosnia.

In terms of any UAV, not necessarily guided aircraft, the incendiary balloons are the earliest example I can think of, however, carrier pigeons were used as early as 1150 according to Wikipedia, so this may qualify.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Nice. However would the balloons of July 1849 be considered a "modern drone"? For this reason the article talks about UAVs in general rather than just username_1!  
> **username_1**: @user1271772 my research was limited to username_1 that can be controlled via radio link, so by these standards an incendiary balloon would not qualify. Excellent question, though, the history of unmanned flight is certainly an interesting one!  
> **username_1**: @user1271772 I think I misunderstood your original question to mean only unmanned, yet manually controlled aircraft. I have amended my original answer.  
> **username_0**: I don't see any amendment to the answer (yet) !  
> **username_1**: @user1271772 has it come through now?  
> **username_0**: Yes! There was a lag  
> **username_1**: @user1271772 ah okay!  
> **username_0**: Carrier pigeons are, animals right? Can they be considered username_1?  
> **username_1**: @user1271772 I’m not certain, but I guess you could consider it some form of onboard guidance? It really depends how you want to classify it. I did think it was a bit dubious but it’s the earliest use of anything airborne I can think of.  

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