Special Issues

Drones publishes Special Issues to create collections of papers on specific topics, with the aim of building a community of authors and readers to discuss the latest research and develop new ideas and research directions. Special Issues are led by Guest Editors, who are experts on the topic and all Special Issue submissions follow MDPI's standard editorial process. The journal’s Editor-in-Chief and/or designated Editorial Board Member will oversee Guest Editor appointments and Special Issue proposals, checking their content for relevance and ensuring the suitability of the material for the journal. The papers published in a Special Issue will be collected and displayed on a dedicated page of the journal’s website. Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies and Guest Editor responsibilities can be found here. For any inquiries related to a Special Issue, please contact the Editorial Office.

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Advances in Guidance, Navigation, and Control
edited by
submission deadline 30 Nov 2025 | 2 articles | Viewed by 3199 | Submission Open
Keywords: guidance systems; navigation systems; control systems; unmanned systems
Rapid Disaster Assessment and Post-Disaster Recovery Using UAV Remote Sensing submission deadline 30 Nov 2025 | Viewed by 193 | Submission Open
Keywords: UAV photogrammetry; rapid mapping; disaster response; post-disaster recovery; change detection; AI and remote sensing; multi-sensor platforms; emergency mapping; UAV-GIS integration; damage assessment
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drones in Ecology)
Drone-Enabled Smart Sensing: Challenges and Opportunities
edited by , Calvin Coopmans and
submission deadline 5 Dec 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1109 | Submission Open
Keywords: digital twins; smart cities; machine learning; optimal sensor placement; modeling and control; environmental monitoring; precision agriculture; swarm coordination and control; real-time optimization; edge computing; internet of things
Advances in Internet of Drones: Applications, Communication Infrastructures, Architectures, and Protocols for FANETs submission deadline 10 Dec 2025 | Viewed by 550 | Submission Open
Keywords: Internet of Drones; FANET; architecture; aerial wireless networks; drone communication; swarm communication
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Technologies and Applications of UAV Channel Models in Communications and Spectrum Awareness: 2nd Edition submission deadline 10 Dec 2025 | Viewed by 155 | Submission Open
Keywords: UAV channel model; UAV channel sounding; UAV ISAC; UAV communication; UAV spectrum sensing; UAV trajectory planning
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
AI for Cybersecurity in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)
edited by , Neji Mensi and Fatima Salahdine
submission deadline 15 Dec 2025 | 2 articles | Viewed by 3781 | Submission Open
Keywords: AI-based cybersecurity frameworks; UAS cybersecurity; advanced AI models; secure communication protocols; autonomous systems; data privacy
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Path Planning, Trajectory Tracking and Guidance for UAVs: 3rd Edition submission deadline 15 Dec 2025 | Viewed by 205 | Submission Open
Keywords: path planning; trajectory tracking; guidance; navigation; and control; autonomous control; trajectory optimization; formation and reconfiguration
UAV Piloting, Training, Cooperation, and Interaction
edited by David Nembhard and Runwen Qin
submission deadline 16 Dec 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1866 | Submission Open
Keywords: UAV piloting; HRI; UAV cooperation; pilot training; pilot biometrics; human performance in complex systems
Flight Control and Collision Avoidance of UAVs: 2nd Edition
edited by Rodney Swee Huat Teo and
submission deadline 16 Dec 2025 | Viewed by 106 | Submission Open
Keywords: artificial intelligence; autonomous navigation; collision avoidance; guidance systems; computer vision; obstacle detection; decision making under uncertainty; safety verification; robust control; multi-object tracking and association; visual servoing; conflict prediction; conflict resolution; collision checking; risk assessment
Autonomous Flight of Drone: Control, Trajectory Optimization and Mission Planning: 2nd Edition
edited by and
submission deadline 19 Dec 2025 | 12 articles | Viewed by 19223 | Submission Open
Keywords: pilot control; intelligent control; UAV formation control; trajectory optimization; mission planning; autonomous system
Advances and Innovations in Drone Technology for Mining and Construction Applications
edited by , , , , Debashish Chakravarty and Muhammad Zaka Emad
submission deadline 19 Dec 2025 | Viewed by 969 | Submission Open
Keywords: drone technology (or UAV/UAS); aerial surveying and mapping; mining automation; construction monitoring; AI and machine learning in drones; safety and hazard inspection; environmental rehabilitation; digitalization in industry; rescue robotics and robotic mapping (UAV and terrestrial)
Resilient Networking and Task Allocation for Drone Swarms: 2nd Edition
edited by , and
submission deadline 25 Dec 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 398 | Submission Open
Keywords: drone swarms; UAV ad hoc networks; swarm cooperative communications; swarm secure issues; swarm cooperative decision making
Autonomous Drone Navigation in GPS-Denied Environments
edited by and Yang Liu
submission deadline 26 Dec 2025 | 4 articles | Viewed by 5010 | Submission Open
Keywords: autonomous drone navigation; GPS-denied environment; visual– inertial navigation; visual– inertial odometry; simultaneous localization and mapping; resource-constrained autonomous navigation; robust dynamic sensor calibration
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Design and Development)
Cross-Modal Autonomous Cooperation for Intelligent Unmanned Systems
edited by Xingling Shao, Ben Niu, Feisheng Yang, Ziquan Yu and
submission deadline 30 Dec 2025 | Viewed by 411 | Submission Open
Keywords: cross-modal perception; heterogeneous unmanned swarm; dynamic obstacle avoidance; human– robot collaboration; intelligent unmanned systems; autonomous navigation; energy management; security and privacy
Advanced Communication and Control Technologies for Next-Generation Drones
edited by , Franco Mazzenga, and
submission deadline 30 Dec 2025 | Viewed by 142 | Submission Open
Keywords: drones; UAV communication; underwater drone communication; drone control systems; swarm drones; tethered drones; AI for UAVs; FANETs; robotics; wireless systems; mission planning; intelligent systems; autonomous vehicles
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Control, Planning, and Embodied Intelligence of Agile UAVs in Indoor Environments
edited by , and Lin Zhao
submission deadline 30 Dec 2025 | Viewed by 99 | Submission Open
Keywords: autonomous guidance and navigation; agile UAVs; indoor navigation; agile control; perception-aware planning; embodied intelligence
UAV Detection, Classification, and Tracking submission deadline 31 Dec 2025 | 5 articles | Viewed by 9202 | Submission Open
Keywords: UAV detection; UAV classification; UAV tracking; optical sensors; IR sensors; RF sensors; radars; deep learning
Advances in Detection, Security, and Communication for UAV: 2nd Edition
edited by and
submission deadline 31 Dec 2025 | 4 articles | Viewed by 4556 | Submission Open
Keywords: UAV communication; UAV network and 6G; UAV system architecture; interference management; artificial intelligence; detection and data collection; image processing; UAV network security
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Advances in UAV Networks Towards 6G
edited by Changchuan Yin, and Mingzhe Chen
submission deadline 31 Dec 2025 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2693 | Submission Open
Keywords: UAV swarm; integrated space– air– ground networks; positioning; trajectory design; data collection
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Drones for Mapping and Monitoring Wetland Ecosystems submission deadline 31 Dec 2025 | Viewed by 830 | Submission Open
Keywords: wetlands; long-term monitoring; mapping with drones; survey; sampling; conservation; harmful blooms
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drones in Ecology)
Computational Fluid Dynamics for Next-Generation Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
edited by , Fernando Veiga López and Elena Beatriz Martín Ortega
submission deadline 31 Dec 2025 | Viewed by 85 | Submission Open
Keywords: computational fluid dynamics; urban air mobility; reduced order models; AI-enhanced flow prediction; wind turbulence; urban wind forecasting; microweather; wind gusts; wind-aware path planning
(This special issue belongs to the Section Innovative Urban Mobility)
Next-Generation UAV Base Stations: Enabling Integrated Sensing, Communications, and the Low-Altitude Economy submission deadline 6 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 94 | Submission Open
Keywords: UAV base stations; AI-driven drones; swarm intelligence; UAV-based integrated sensing and communications (ISAC); trajectory optimization; digital twinning; aerial edge computing; energy-efficient UAV communications; space– air– ground integrated network (SAGIN); 6G
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Drone-Centric Optical Wireless Networks: Innovations in 6G, AI, and Hybrid Communication Systems
edited by , Demostenes Zegarra Rodriguez, Shahid Mumtaz and
submission deadline 8 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 554 | Submission Open
Keywords: drone optical wireless communication; aerial free space optics; 6G networks; drone-based access points; AI-driven optimization; hybrid optical and RF systems; latency-sensitive applications; intelligent transportation systems; security in optical wireless networks; drone communication systems
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Drones and Machine Learning as a Complementary Tools in Wildlife Biology Studies
edited by and
submission deadline 16 Jan 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2841 | Submission Open
Keywords: drones; machine learning; Yolo; DeepLabCut; IR Camera; artificial intelligence; behavioural studies
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drones in Ecology)
Urban Traffic Monitoring and Analysis Using UAVs
edited by , Ansar Yasar and
submission deadline 20 Jan 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 3401 | Submission Open
Keywords: urban traffic monitoring; unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); data analytics; smart cities; traffic flow optimization; traffic safety; real-time; intelligent transportation systems; multi-UAV systems; traffic enforcement
(This special issue belongs to the Section Innovative Urban Mobility)
Advances in Perception, Communications, and Control for Drones: 2nd Edition submission deadline 26 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 22 | Submission Open
Keywords: perception; drone communications; autonomous control; communication-oriented control; perception-aware control; drone swarms
UAV Path Planning Algorithms for Surveillance and Reconnaissance in Civil Applications submission deadline 28 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 63 | Submission Open
Keywords: path planning algorithms; civil surveillance; reconnaissance missions; autonomous navigation; obstacle avoidance; multi-UAV systems; machine learning for navigation; deep reinforcement learning; real-time trajectory optimization; cooperative motion planning; sensor fusion; urban monitoring; disaster response; infrastructure inspection; rotary-wing; fixed-wing and convertible UAVs; ethics and regulation in UAV operations
Navigation, Control and Mission Planning Advances for Safe, Efficient and Autonomous Drones: 2nd Edition submission deadline 29 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 74 | Submission Open
Keywords: drone; path following; navigation; control; machine learning; autonomy; UAV; spacecraft
The Role of UAVs in Modern Agriculture: Precision Spraying and Crop Health Analysis submission deadline 31 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 62 | Submission Open
Keywords: drone crop monitoring; field mapping; vegetation indexes; imaging and sensor technologies; artificial intelligence; aerial spraying; remote agriculture; digital simulations
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drones in Agriculture and Forestry)
UAVs and UGVs Robotics for Emergency Response in a Changing Climate
edited by , Santos Miguel Orozco Soto and Christian Wankmüller
submission deadline 31 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 58 | Submission Open
Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs); robotics for hazardous environments; disaster robotics; human-robot teaming; search and rescue (SAR); emergency response automation; autonomous navigation; real-time situational awareness
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drones in Ecology)
Drones in Pest Management and Plant Disease Detecting: State of the Art, Achievements and Perspectives
edited by Zoran Stamenković, Aleksandar Ivezić and
submission deadline 12 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 41 | Submission Open
Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicle; pest management; plant disease detection; precision agriculture; remote sensing; multispectral imaging; hyperspectral data; machine learning; crop monitoring; smart spraying
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drones in Agriculture and Forestry)
Low-Latency Communication for Real-Time UAV Applications
edited by Angelos Stavrou, Tolga O. Atalay and Alireza Famili
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 7 | Submission Open
Keywords: low-latency communication; real-time UAV applications; 5G/6G networks; ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC); edge computing for drones; UAV swarm communication; next-generation wireless systems; mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) for UAVs; autonomous drone networks; latency-aware protocols
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Unmanned Aerial Systems for Geophysical Mapping and Monitoring submission deadline 1 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 26 | Submission Open
Keywords: earth science; geophysics; magnetics; electromagnetic; gravity; GPR; hyperspectral; radiometrics; data processing; miniaturized sensors; sensor integration; UAS payload optimization; subsurface mapping
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