A pocket-sized spy drone disguised as a hummingbird has been unveiled by a major Pentagon contractor measuring just 16 centimetres and weighing less than an AA battery.
The mini spy plane can fly up to 11 miles an hour and took five years to develop at a cost of $4million.
Army chiefs hope to use the drone’s tiny camera to spy on enemy positions in war zones without arousing detection and eventually deploy it into both rural and urban environments.
Experts hope the drone, which can fly just by flapping its wings, compared with current models which rely on propellers, will eventually be able to swoop through open windows and perch on power lines.
The demonstration by AeroVironment – one of the world’s biggest drone suppliers – lasted eight minutes and saw the new creation fly through a door into an building and out again, and withstand winds of five miles per hour.
Todd Hylton, Hummingbird programme manager for the Pentagon’s research arm said it ‘paves the way for a new generation of aircraft with the agility and appearance of small birds.’
via Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's the army's latest $4million spy drone disguised as a hummingbird, measuring just 16 centimetres | Mail Online.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Army's latest $4million spy drone is disguised as a hummingbird
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2 comments:
For the Pentagon's sake, I hope that the hummingbird is a common sight all over the world, otherwise this is a bit like disguising your nuclear weapon to look like a kangaroo.
Lol. New conspiracy theory: someone is using weapons against real bird populations to take out the hidden bio-mimic spy drones. Who are the players for this theory? Different governments? Drug smugglers vs military? Military vs aliens? Aliens vs aliens?
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