All Stories

How the war in Afghanistan transformed both the MQ-1 Predator and the Night Stalkers from supporting roles to leading actors in 21st-century warfare. 

Two artifacts are to be on exhibit at the Modern Military Aviation gallery, which opens on July 1, 2026. 

Recent discoveries and news in aviation and space. 

A short history of early 20th-century drones.

Pulling back the curtain on artifacts in storage. For this issue, we feature the Boeing X-45A UAV.

In a lot of political and financial circles space exploration is often talked about in terms of human space exploration VERSUS robotic space travel. But most scientists and engineers who work on space missions think this question is better answered with a "yes, and."

As we collect the delivery drone used by Wing for the first commercial drone delivery to a U.S. home, we talk to Wing CTO Adam Woodworth about his work at Wing, his passion for aviation, and how it feels to have a project he worked on join the Smithsonian collection.

Zipline uses drone technology to connect essential medical products with people in need in the developing world.

The story of this emerging technology will be a cornerstone of our new Thomas W. Haas We All Fly gallery, a new exhibition that is part of the ongoing reimagining of the Museum. We are excited to feature an example of Amazon’s work in the autonomous aerial delivery field—the Amazon Prime Air Hybrid Drone.

In 1858, French photographer Gaspar Félix Tournachon took a photo of a village from his hot air balloon--the first aerial photograph. Since then, aerial photography has changed how we see the world around us.