Shortly after one of these flying acroynms Hellfired some rusty old Toyota pick-up and splattered the desert with the worthless remains of some ex-Al-Qaeda vermin and his cohorts, I wrote something on PPRuNe about 'The drones of death' being the cause. Some trawling meeja-luvvie picked up on the term - and the result was that the word 'drone' re-entered common use.
Reliable word has it that the RPV/RPAS/UAV/UAS/(insert latest silly TLA/4LA as reqd.) 'industry', specifically 't Bungling Baron Waste o'Space's mob oop Preston way, really, really hate the word 'drone'......as do drone operators.
So drone it MUST now be! Tough doo-doo, live with it!