Target drones are a type of military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used for simulating target characteristics in the air, which play an important role in both developing and testing of anti-air weapons, as well as training of anti-aircraft crews. After nearly half a century of development, China has developed a large array of aerial targets from low-altitude, low-speed to high-altitude, high-speed types, and achieved a great deal of success in the field of flight control technologies. This paper carries out a systemic study about the development of target drones and associated flight control technologies. Particularly, the main features for different types of target drones are discussed, and the development trend of new generation of flight control techniques are introduced in detail. The paper provides a reference for understanding drone technology at home and abroad of the status quo and development trends.

target drone  /  unmanned aerial vehicles  /  flight control  /  cooperative control