Wireless communications with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offer cost-effective connectivity for devices without infrastructure coverage. UAVs, or drones, are versatile and have applications in military, civilian, and commercial domains. They are classified into fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, each with distinct advantages. UAVs can provide high-speed wireless communication, especially in scenarios where traditional infrastructure is unavailable or damaged. They are more flexible and faster to deploy than high-altitude platforms (HAPs) or terrestrial systems. UAVs can establish short-range line-of-sight (LoS) links, improving communication performance. However, their mobility and energy constraints introduce challenges, such as dynamic network topologies, security, and interference management. The article discusses the basic networking architecture of UAV-aided communications, including control and non-payload (CNPC) links and data links. CNPC links are critical for safety-critical functions, requiring low latency, high security, and reliable communication. Data links support mission-related communications, with varying capacity requirements. UAV-ground and UAV-UAV channels have unique characteristics, such as LoS dominance and multipath effects, which influence communication design. Key design considerations include UAV path planning, energy-aware deployment, and MIMO communications. UAV path planning is crucial for optimizing communication performance, while energy-aware deployment ensures efficient use of limited onboard energy. MIMO technology faces challenges in UAV environments due to limited scattering and hardware constraints, but can still offer benefits through careful design. UAV-controlled mobility enhances communication performance through techniques like mobile relaying and D2D-enhanced information dissemination. Mobile relaying reduces link distances and improves throughput, while D2D-enhanced dissemination efficiently distributes information to multiple ground nodes. These techniques highlight the potential of UAVs in future wireless systems, supporting diverse applications with significant capacity improvements. The article concludes that UAV-aided communications present both opportunities and challenges, requiring innovative solutions for effective deployment and operation.Wireless communications with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offer cost-effective connectivity for devices without infrastructure coverage. UAVs, or drones, are versatile and have applications in military, civilian, and commercial domains. They are classified into fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, each with distinct advantages. UAVs can provide high-speed wireless communication, especially in scenarios where traditional infrastructure is unavailable or damaged. They are more flexible and faster to deploy than high-altitude platforms (HAPs) or terrestrial systems. UAVs can establish short-range line-of-sight (LoS) links, improving communication performance. However, their mobility and energy constraints introduce challenges, such as dynamic network topologies, security, and interference management. The article discusses the basic networking architecture of UAV-aided communications, including control and non-payload (CNPC) links and data links. CNPC links are critical for safety-critical functions, requiring low latency, high security, and reliable communication. Data links support mission-related communications, with varying capacity requirements. UAV-ground and UAV-UAV channels have unique characteristics, such as LoS dominance and multipath effects, which influence communication design. Key design considerations include UAV path planning, energy-aware deployment, and MIMO communications. UAV path planning is crucial for optimizing communication performance, while energy-aware deployment ensures efficient use of limited onboard energy. MIMO technology faces challenges in UAV environments due to limited scattering and hardware constraints, but can still offer benefits through careful design. UAV-controlled mobility enhances communication performance through techniques like mobile relaying and D2D-enhanced information dissemination. Mobile relaying reduces link distances and improves throughput, while D2D-enhanced dissemination efficiently distributes information to multiple ground nodes. These techniques highlight the potential of UAVs in future wireless systems, supporting diverse applications with significant capacity improvements. The article concludes that UAV-aided communications present both opportunities and challenges, requiring innovative solutions for effective deployment and operation.