Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of imagery intelligence, and the observation of enemy maneuvers.
A USAAF photo-reconnaissance Lockheed F-5 Lightning in flight over Europe circa June 1944. It is marked with invasion stripes to help Allied troops clearly identify it as an Allied plane.
Pigeon with German miniature camera, during the First World War
A B.E.2c reconnaissance aircraft of the RFC with an aerial reconnaissance camera fixed to the side of the fuselage, 1916
A German observation plane, the Rumpler Taube
In military operations, military reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnaissance is abbreviated to recce and to recon, both derived from the root word reconnoitre.
U.S. Marines on a recon mission during a field training exercise in 2003
A tracked FV107 Scimitar as used by armoured reconnaissance regiments of the British Army
A two-man JGSDF team mans Kawasaki KLX250 dirt bikes in the reconnaissance role during a public demonstration
A Type 87 ARV armored reconnaissance vehicle from the JSDF
