There are several types of drag that act on an aircraft as it moves through the air:
1) Parasite drag includes form or pressure drag from the aircraft's shape, skin friction drag from the surface, and interference drag between different parts.
2) Lift induced drag is caused by the direction of lift being perpendicular to the airflow.
3) Wave drag occurs at transonic and supersonic speeds and is caused by shock waves forming on the aircraft.
Methods to reduce drag include streamlining the aircraft's shape to reduce form drag, making surfaces smooth to reduce skin friction, adding winglets to improve lift and reduce induced drag, and research into reducing wave drag at high speeds.