Comparative Analysis of Rotary-Wing Drones, Fixed-Wing Drones and Compound-Wing Drones for Uavs

Authors

  • Tongyu Zhang New Oriental, Zhangzhou, 450000, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/8b2agg53

Keywords:

UAV; Rotary-wing; Fixed-wing; Compound-wing; Comparison.

Abstract

This article is mainly due to the rapid development of drones in today's society. It analyzes the characteristics and principles of the three existing types of drones for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), namely fixed - wing drones, compound drones, and rotary - wing drones. Then, based on their anti - interference ability, endurance, and reliability in performing tasks, it analyzes their suitable application scenarios. Through chart comparison, it is concluded that rotary - wing drones are suitable for low - altitude economy such as low - altitude reconnaissance, agricultural plant protection, and aerial photography; fixed - wing drones are suitable for surveying and mapping, long - distance inspection, logistics transportation, and long - range strikes; compound drones are suitable for scenarios that require vertical take - off and landing and long - endurance, such as border patrol, emergency rescue, transportation, or experiments. It also elaborates on the existing drone technologies and then makes expectations and predictions for the future development of drones. The whole article provides a reference for the future application scenarios of drones.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

[1] Song Y, Deng A, Chen H, et al. Research on the development of China's low-altitude economic industry from the perspective of patents. Proceedings of the 2nd Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Conference on Digital Economy and Artificial Intelligence. 2025: 366-370.

[2] Luo C. The Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Law of China: A Comparative Study of the Mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao. The Regulation of Automated and Autonomous Transport. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2023: 71-103.

[3] Chen X, Li G, Mehmood M S, et al. Integration and differentiation: comparison of photography behaviors using unmanned aerial vehicle data in China and Europe. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 2023, 10(1): 1-11.

[4] Garg P K. Characterisation of fixed-wing versus multirotors uavs/drones. Journal of Geomatics, 2022, 16(2): 152-159.

[5] Sankaresh Pandian R, Vijayanandh R, Kishor Kumar S, et al. Comparative hydrodynamic investigations on unmanned aquatic vehicle for ocean applications. Recent Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Select Proceedings of ICOFTIME 2020. Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2021: 139-151.

[6] Zhao T, Li W. Design configuration and technical application of rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicles. Mechatronics and Intelligent Transportation Systems, 2022, 1(1): 69-85.

[7] Israr A, Alkhammash E H, Hadjouni M. Guidance, Navigation, and Control for Fixed‐Wing UAV. Mathematical Problems in Engineering, 2021, 2021(1): 4355253.

[8] Ai L, Xia H, Yang J, et al. A Study on the Aerodynamic Impact of Rotors on Fixed Wings During the Transition Phase in Compound-Wing UAVs. Aerospace (MDPI Publishing), 2024, 11(11).

[9] Li J Y, Lan Y B, Shi Y Y. Research progress on airflow characteristics and field application of rotor UAVs. Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering, 2018, 34(12): 104–118.

[10] Gu H H, Zheng J S, Jiang Q G. Application of multi-rotor UAVs in disaster site rescue. Southern Agricultural Machinery, 2021, 52(8): 90–91.

[11] Li F Q, Jin J Y, Du X F, et al. Rotor UAV attitude stabilization method based on domain-adversarial adaptive learning. Acta Automatica Sinica, 2025, 51: 1–15.

[12] Shen Z. Research and experiments on endurance model of rotor UAV. Wanfang Data, 2024.

[13] Qin T, Zhang G Y, Yang L Y, et al. Research on endurance optimization of multi-rotor UAVs in high-altitude environments. Drones, 2023, 7(7): 469.

[14] Zhu H, Wang Y, Lan Y B, et al. Design and simulation of a long-endurance light fixed-wing agricultural remote sensing UAV. Transactions of the Chinese Society for Agricultural Machinery, 2021, 52(3): 234–242.

[15] Ai C N, Hu L X, Zhao T T, et al. Research progress on endurance technologies for fixed-wing UAVs. Mechanical & Electrical Engineering Technology, 2023, 52(2): 6–11.

[16] Liu Z, Guo L, Zhang X, et al. Aerodynamic characteristics and flight testing of an elliptical hybrid-wing VTOL UAV. Experimental Technology and Management, 2025.

[17] Li S C, Wang F G, Wang S W, et al. Design and experiment of rotor control system for composite-wing UAV based on improved active disturbance rejection control. Transactions of the Chinese Society for Agricultural Machinery, 2024, 55(6): 68–79.

[18] Liu A, Feng J F, Liao B Q, et al. Progress and key technologies of multi-rotor unmanned aerial underwater vehicles. Ship Science and Technology, 2017, 39(3): 1–6.

Downloads

Published

27-03-2026

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Zhang, T. (2026). Comparative Analysis of Rotary-Wing Drones, Fixed-Wing Drones and Compound-Wing Drones for Uavs. Frontiers in Computing and Intelligent Systems, 16(1), 240-245. https://doi.org/10.54097/8b2agg53