Have you ever seen the takeoff and landing process of a vertical takeoff and landing fixed wing drone? They can perform vertical takeoff and landing in place without relying on runway taxiing. In the above picture, it is a vertical takeoff and landing fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicle that is landing. The aircraft adopts a fixed wing design, with a high aspect ratio wing installed at the rear 1/3 of the fuselage, and a rare elliptical tailstock (the part where the operator can hold it) at the tail, which is actually a ducted structure wrapped around the propeller. The aircraft is in a vertical flight state during takeoff and landing phases; After reaching a certain altitude, switch to horizontal flight mode. The secret to the aircraft's ability to freely switch flight postures lies in its elliptical tailstock. It can serve as the vertical and horizontal tail of a drone, also known as a tailstock vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Tail seat vertical takeoff and landing technology is not new, and it was tested on manned fighter jets as early as the 1950s. Due to the limited visibility and difficulty of operation for pilots during vertical takeoff and landing of fighter jets, this technology was abandoned. And when combined with drones, this technology solves many problems faced by drones, especially shipborne drones. The current shipborne unmanned aerial vehicles include two types: fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned helicopters. Fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles use catapult takeoff and deck interception hook recovery methods, which are complex in launch and pose certain risks in interception hook recovery. Moreover, takeoff and landing require a large deck space. Unmanned helicopters do not require complex launch and recovery technologies, but have short hovering time and slow flight speed. Tailored vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial vehicles have both the vertical takeoff and landing functions of unmanned helicopters and the high-speed and level flight characteristics of fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles. They can flexibly take off from the helicopter deck at the rear of a warship or from a spacious deck platform on board, and perform various tasks. Not only that, this type of drone is equipped with an autonomous flight system that can autonomously plan flight paths, identify targets, and carry different mission payloads to perform search, surveillance, reconnaissance, and other tasks, or electronic warfare systems or weapon system modules to perform electronic suppression and strike missions on the battlefield. Its future development is worth paying attention to. (New Society)