Editing Military aircraft (section)

===Lighter-than-air===
{{Main|Observation balloon|Airship}}
[[File:Luchtballon WO I - Observation balloon WW I (7081018985).jpg|thumb|Luchtballon WO I [[observation balloon]]]]

In 1783, when the first practical aircraft (hot-air and hydrogen balloons) were established, they were quickly adopted for military duties.<ref>Guilmartin, John F., Jr. "Military Aircraft." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, n.d. Web. 11 May 2015 (March 2015)</ref> The first military balloon unit was the [[French Aerostatic Corps]], who in 1794 flew an [[observation balloon]] during the [[Battle of Fleurus (1794)|Battle of Fleurus]], the first major battle to feature aerial observation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbrclub.org/History%20of%20Balloons%20in%20Warfare.htm|title=History of Balloons in Warfare|website=bbrclub|access-date=2019-02-25}}</ref> Balloons continued to be used throughout the 19th century, including in the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and the [[Franco-Prussian War]], for observation and [[propaganda]] distribution.<ref name="bl.uk">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/aerial-warfare-during-world-war-one|title=Aerial warfare during World War One|website=The British Library|access-date=2019-02-25}}</ref> During [[World War I]], German [[Zeppelin]] [[airships]] carried out multiple [[strategic bombing|air raids]] on British cities, as well as being used for observation.<ref name="bl.uk" /> In the 1920s, the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] acquired several [[blimp|non-rigid airships]], the first one to see service being the [[K-1 (airship)|K-1]] in 1931. Use by the U.S. as well as other countries continued into [[World War II]]. The U.S. Navy retired its last balloons in 1963.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.century-of-flight.net/new%20site/balloons/World%20War%20II.htm|title=balloons in World War 2|website=www.century-of-flight.net|access-date=2019-02-25}}</ref> Only a handful of lighter-than-air military aircraft were used since, such as the [[American Blimp MZ-3]], used for [[research and development]] by the U.S. Navy from 2006 to 2017.