Photos: UAVs land in the Smithsonian

A slingshot-style launch on a larger scale: This is the RQ-7A Shadow 200 being loaded onto a catapult in Iraq's Kirkuk province, where the UAV has been in service with the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division since October. Using the launcher, the Shadow needs only about 30 feet of clearance for takeoff. The 11-foot aircraft also has unretractable landing gear for more conventional takeoff and landing.

The Shadow, built largely from composite materials, can fly for 5 to 7 hours at a cruising speed of about 100 mph, pushed by a rotary engine, and can fly as high as 19,000 feet, according to manufacturer AAI. Its maximum gross weight is 375 pounds.