Reconnaissance aircraft

Military aircraft for investigating the enemy's situation. The first aerial reconnaissance of the enemy was conducted in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars, when balloons were used. When World War I began, airplanes, which had just been invented, were recognized as being of great value for reconnaissance, and the history of military aircraft began from there. Reconnaissance aircraft can be broadly divided into three types: observation aircraft (now mainly helicopters) that are closely linked to ground forces and monitor the surrounding area and observe the impact of artillery shells; tactical reconnaissance aircraft that scout the entire battlefield; and strategic reconnaissance aircraft that fly deep into enemy territory. Some unmanned aircraft are also used. For a long time, cameras were the main method of reconnaissance, but now radar and infrared devices are also used, and reconnaissance capabilities at night and in bad weather have been improved. In addition, electronic reconnaissance, which captures radio waves emitted by the enemy, investigates the capabilities of electronic devices such as radar, and predicts movements by analyzing communications, is also important, and electronic intelligence gathering aircraft are active even in peacetime.

[Katsuhiro Fujita]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

敵の状況を探るための軍用機。空からの敵情偵察はフランス革命戦争中の1794年に気球が使われたのが最初で、第一次世界大戦が始まると、誕生まもなかった飛行機が偵察用として大きな価値を認められ、そこから軍用機の歴史が始まった。偵察機を大別すると、地上部隊に密接に結び付き、周辺の監視や砲兵の弾着観測にあたる観測機（現在ではおもにヘリコプター）、戦域一帯を偵察する戦術偵察機、敵地の奥深くまで飛ぶ戦略偵察機の三つになり、無人機も一部では使われている。偵察の手段としてはカメラが長らく主体になっていたが、現在ではレーダーや赤外線装置なども用い、夜間や悪天候時の偵察能力が強化されている。また相手の発する電波を捕捉(ほそく)して、レーダーなど電子機器の能力を探り、通信の分析により動きを推測する電子偵察も重視され、平時においても電子情報収集機が活動を行っている。

［藤田勝啓］

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