Air Force researchers at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, are developing tiny unmanned aircraft that mimic the flight characteristics of small birds and insects. “We take the technology that we have and we try to design something that does the same thing as a hummingbird or dragonfly does,” explains Ryan Carr, an Air Force Research Lab aeronautical engineer. Such micro air vehicles, carrying cameras and other sensors, would be a valuable tool for inconspicuously gathering intelligence on persons or objects for extended periods. The hummingbird is capable of feats that Carr and his colleagues hope to be able to replicate in a MAV: the endurance to travel long distances, ability to stop quickly and hover, and wherewithal to navigate through tight spaces. AFRL’s Micro Air Vehicle Integration and Application Research Institute is the hub for this work. (DOD Web page highlighting AFRL’s micro air vehicle activities)
The Pentagon needs a Digital Command and a Digital Warfare Corps, along with other changes, to take advantage of critical new technologies, according to a think tank founded by former Google CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt.
