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UPSC Prelims 2025 GS Paper 1, question 42

Topic: Science and technology

Q42

With reference to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), consider the following statements :

I. All types of UAVs can do vertical landing.

II. All types of UAVs can do automated hovering.

III. All types of UAVs can use battery only as a source of power supply.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

  1. (a) Only one
  2. (b) Only two
  3. (c) All the three
  4. (d) NoneCorrect answer

Solution.

Answer: (d) None

  1. Statement I is incorrect: fixed-wing UAVs (such as high-altitude long-endurance drones like Global Hawk or Heron) require a runway for conventional horizontal take-off and landing and cannot perform vertical landing.
  2. Statement II is incorrect: fixed-wing UAVs must maintain forward airspeed to generate aerodynamic lift over their wings and cannot hover in place.
  3. Statement III is incorrect: UAVs can be powered by internal combustion engines, turboprop/turbofan jet engines, solar cells, or hydrogen fuel cells, not solely by batteries.