# What are drones now called?

**Officially UAS or UAV; passenger versions are eVTOL air taxis under urban air mobility.** The word drone is informal. Regulators call them unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV); the FAA and ICAO adopted UAS as the standard in 2005, and small consumer drones are sUAS. Some bodies use RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft system). Passenger-carrying drones are a separate category: eVTOL air taxis, grouped under urban or advanced air mobility.

Last verified Jul 26, 2026. 1 sources.

## Short answer

Drone is the everyday word, not the official one. It is still perfectly correct in conversation, but regulators and the industry use more precise terms depending on the machine.

The two you will meet most are UAV and UAS. A UAV, unmanned aerial vehicle, is the aircraft itself. A UAS, unmanned aircraft system, is the whole system: the aircraft plus its ground controller and the communication link between them. The FAA and ICAO adopted UAS as the standard term back in 2005, which is why US rules talk about UAS rather than drones, and small consumer drones under 55 pounds are formally sUAS, small unmanned aircraft systems. UAV survives mostly in military and technical use. Aviation regulators also use RPAS, remotely piloted aircraft system, to stress that a human pilot is flying it remotely rather than the aircraft flying itself.

The newest branch of the vocabulary is for the drones big enough to carry people. Those are not called drones at all in the industry; they are eVTOL aircraft, electric vertical takeoff and landing, and the service is the air taxi, grouped under urban air mobility or advanced air mobility. So the honest answer: in casual speech, still drones; officially UAS, UAV, or RPAS; and for the passenger machines, eVTOL air taxis. The terminology here is attributed to the source below.

## The official terms

| Term | Kind | As of | Who | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Aviation regulators also use RPAS, remotely piloted aircraft system. RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft system) is the term ICAO and some governments, such as Canada, use for a drone flown by a remote pilot, as opposed to one flying autonomously. In everyday speech, drone still covers all of them, while technical and legal documents prefer UAS, UAV, or RPAS. | Regulatory term | Jul 26, 2026 (as reported) | Wikipedia | [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle) |
| Officially, a drone is an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A UAV is the aircraft itself; a UAS is the whole system, the aircraft plus its ground controller and communication link. The FAA and ICAO adopted UAS as the standard term in 2005, and small drones under 55 pounds are sUAS (small unmanned aircraft systems). UAV is used more in military and technical contexts. | Official term | Jul 26, 2026 (as reported) | Wikipedia (citing FAA and ICAO usage) | [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle) |

## How we know this

- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle)

## Common questions

### What is the official name for a drone?

The official term is unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which the FAA and ICAO adopted in 2005. UAS refers to the whole system: the aircraft plus its controller and communication link. The aircraft alone is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Small consumer drones under 55 pounds are formally called sUAS, small unmanned aircraft systems. Drone remains correct in everyday use, but rules use UAS.

### What is the difference between a UAV and a UAS?

A UAV, unmanned aerial vehicle, is the flying aircraft itself. A UAS, unmanned aircraft system, is the complete package: the aircraft plus the ground control station and the communication link that connects them. So every UAV is part of a UAS. Regulators prefer UAS because they regulate the whole system, not just the airframe, while UAV is more common in military and engineering contexts.

### What are passenger drones called?

Not drones, in the industry. A passenger-carrying drone is an eVTOL, an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and the service it provides is called an air taxi. The broader field is urban air mobility (UAM) or advanced air mobility (AAM). DEPLOY holds the real ones, from EHang, Joby, and Archer, as verified records.

### Is it correct to call them drones?

Yes. Drone is a widely accepted informal term for any uncrewed aircraft, civilian or military, and even aviation professionals use it in conversation. The more formal terms, UAS, UAV, and RPAS, exist because rules and technical documents need precision about the whole system versus the aircraft, and about who is flying it. In casual use, drone is perfectly correct.

## Keep reading

- [Which eVTOL company is closest to FAA certification?](/evtol-faa-certification-tracker.md): Drones & eVTOL
- [Is drone delivery legal?](/is-drone-delivery-legal.md): Drones & eVTOL
- [What's the best drone to buy right now?](/whats-the-best-drone-to-buy.md): Drones & eVTOL
- [What's the best drone for beginners?](/best-drone-for-beginners.md): Drones & eVTOL
- [All verified answers](/answers.md): Every standing question DEPLOY tracks.
- [What is a passenger drone?](/what-is-a-passenger-drone.md): The eVTOL air taxis, defined.

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