'Drones' or 'smart' unmanned aerial vehicles?

Over the past decade or so, it has become commonplace to refer to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as 'drones', no doubt in reference to the bee-like, deep humming sound they supposedly emit as they fly endlessly along programmed routes in search of potential targets. However, the term 'drone' has a number of less favourable connotations"”notably 'idling', 'monotonous' and 'non-working'1"”which depreciate and disparage the increasing utility and cost-effectiveness of UAVs in modern warfare. For a number of years, UAVs"”characterised by the highly-effective 'Predator' "” have been used in combat missions with some visually-spectacular and well-publicised results, notably in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen.2 UAVs can undertake a large range of tactical missions, often with superior strike accuracy to manned aircraft. They are also smaller, more economical and typically can fly longer without refuelling or the risk of pilot fatigue.3 Because their operators do not need flying experience, their training is some ten-fold less expensive than pilot training for manned aircraft.