Soldiers fighting future battles in crowded urban areas will be able to launch hummingbird-sized unmanned nano aerial vehicles — or NAVs — capable of carrying sophisticated sensors and flying through open windows in buildings to report back on enemy positions.


Quote from the article:

A new project partly funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA) called the Nano Aerial Vehicle (NAV) program aims to develop an extremely small, ultra-lightweight aerial vehicle for urban military missions that can fly both indoors and outdoors and that is capable of climbing and descending vertically as well as flying sideways left and right. DARPA says the NAV program pushes the limits of aerodynamic and power conversion efficiency, endurance and maneuverability for very small air vehicle systems. The design the agency green lighted for further development actually will look and fly much like a hummingbird. The winning concept, developed by AeroVironment, is called Nano Scout (Nano Sensor Covert Observer in Urban Terrain). It is a remote-controlled, battery powered NAV with two flapping wings that weighs about two grams (about as heavy as two nickels) and is just slightly

Source: Military plans hummingbird-sized spies

Rate this story

Rating: 1 ... Bad 2 ... Not the best 3 ... Average 4 ... Good 5 ... Awesome

Related Stories

06/11/2010 11:37 AM: Holy Grail of Military Aviation Comes Home 68 Years After Take-Off by TimothyT
It's a sacrifice Americans said they would never forget. And today, more than 68 years since a group of young U.S. servicemen in a B-17E Flying Fortress crash-landed in a primitive New Guinea swamp, ...

05/29/2010 11:34 AM: Rolling Thunder's motorcycle ride storms capitol, honors military by Whiplash
One of the most high profile motorcycle rides will take place this weekend in Washington D.C. to honor a cause nearest most riders’ hearts as Rolling Thunder pays tribute and remembers America’s milit...

04/22/2010 08:15 PM: Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Successfully Powers Launch of U.S. Military's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle by TimothyT
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne today helped boost into orbit the U.S. military's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. The mission was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., by a United Launch A...

04/22/2010 04:36 AM: Ford Launches "Operation : Drive One" ; Tour to salute troops and support military charities by Whiplash
New cars, NASCAR races and even an exclusive concert by country superstar Toby Keith, this weekend Ford launches "Operation Drive one" to honor the men and women of the armed forces while ...

11/05/2009 07:29 AM: Harley Davidson military thanks video with Marisa Miller by Timothy Tibbetts
RNry1ZOvR3M Harley Davidson military thanks video with Marisa Miller...

Your Name:


Subject:


Icon:
                     
             

Message:


Disable smilies in this post.
Disable block tag code.
Add [url] tag at URLs.