The birth of drones can be traced back to 1914. At that time, the First World War was in full swing. Two British generals, Cadell and Pichel, made a proposal to the British Military Aviation Society: develop a small aircraft that does not need to be piloted but controlled by radio. It can fly over a certain target area of ??the enemy and drop bombs pre-installed on small aircraft. This bold idea was immediately appreciated by Sir Dai Henderson, then chairman of the British Military Aviation Society. He designated Professor A.M. Luo to lead a team of people to develop it.
The initial development was carried out in a place called Brooklands. In order to maintain confidentiality, the plan was named "AT Plan". After many tests, the development team first developed a radio remote control device. Aircraft designer Geoffrey de Havilland designed a small high-wing monoplane. The development team installed a radio-controlled device on the small aircraft, but no bombs were installed. In March 1917, towards the end of the First World War, the world's first unmanned aircraft conducted its first flight test at the Royal Flying Training School. However, shortly after the plane took off, the engine suddenly stalled and the plane crashed due to stalling. Soon after, the development team developed a second drone for testing. The plane flew smoothly for a while under radio control. Just as everyone was happily celebrating the success of the test, the engine of the small plane suddenly stalled again. The drone that lost power plunged into the crowd.
The failure of the two tests made the development team very frustrated, and the "AT Project" came to an end. But Professor A.M. Luo was not discouraged and continued to develop drones. Hard work paid off, and 10 years later, he finally succeeded. In 1927, the "Throat" monoplane drone co-developed by Professor A.M. Low successfully conducted a test flight on the British Navy warship "Fortress". The aircraft carried 113 kilograms of bombs and flew 480 kilometers at a speed of 322 kilometers per hour. The advent of the "Throat" drone caused a great sensation in the world at that time.