The Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles exhibit in the Museum's Great Gallery looks at the history and utility of uncrewed aerial vehicles. The exhibit features several historically significant UAVs, including a German V-1; the Insitu Aerosonde, the first pilotless aircraft to fly across the Atlantic; and the Lockheed Martin RQ-3A Darkstar, the first attempt to make a "stealth" drone.

Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly called “drones,” have been around since the earliest days of aviation. Their increase in utilization in recent decades has been dramatic. From 2001 to 2026, the number of UAVs in the United States military alone grew from just 60 aircraft to over 16,000. 

Besides military UAVs, we use drones for everything from law enforcement, to search and rescue after natural disasters, weather research, pest control, package delivery, and even for taking aerial shots for real estate developers. The rapid growth of these pilotless aircraft in military and civil law enforcement operations thrust them into the public spotlight and surrounded them with controversy.