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Air Force Aims to Launch 'Spy Pigeon' Drone by 2015
Aol News ^
| 7/9/2010
| Susan Weinberger
Posted on 07/09/2010 8:54:16 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, U.S. officials often had to rely on grainy satellite photos to decide whether facilities on the ground were intended for producing weapons of mass destruction. Now imagine that instead of overhead satellite imagery -- or even high-flying unmanned aircraft -- they could send in a flock of microdrones that could actually fly right over, or even inside, such facilities.
Even better, these drones -- equipped with chemical sensors that could pick up possible weapons work with near certainty -- would resemble typical birds, like pigeons, making them nearly impossible to spot. This high-tech spy vision is precisely what Air Force researchers are trying to build, and they believe such a microdrone is not only possible, but could be ready to fly in just five years.
"Ideally, it'll be a bird-sized UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle], with the current goal being a pigeon," Dr. Leslie Perkins, the lead for micro air vehicles at the Air Force Research Laboratory, told AOL News. The "birdlike" UAV would also be able to operate with minimal pilot intervention for up to a week at a time, she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at aolnews.com ...
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aerospace; bird; dfens; drone; pigeon; uav; usaf
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To: sonofstrangelove
2
posted on
07/09/2010 8:56:36 PM PDT
by
phockthis
To: sonofstrangelove
3
posted on
07/09/2010 8:57:54 PM PDT
by
knews_hound
(Credo Quia Absurdium--take nothing seriously unless it is absurd. E. Clampus Vitus)
To: 1COUNTER-MORTER-68; Mr. Mojo; James C. Bennett; mowowie; Captain Beyond; darkwing104; JRios1968; ...
To: knews_hound
Heh heh. If they’re cheap to make, deploy, etc and generate alot useful intelligence, great. In the long run, continuous innovation will give our side the big edge.
5
posted on
07/09/2010 9:03:17 PM PDT
by
dr_who
To: sonofstrangelove
With zero in the Oval Office, the only thing that going to fly are turkeys and feathers.
6
posted on
07/09/2010 9:09:33 PM PDT
by
Nitehawk0325
(I have the right to remain silent, but I lack the ability...........)
To: sonofstrangelove
At one time in my career, I worked at a company where old spooks went for a second career. One of the stories they told was of the bugging of the Soviet Embassy in a European Capital. It seems the CIA trained a pigeon to fly to a particular window and drop a radio bug on the sill. The only trouble was that during the trip to the city, the pigeon lost its flight feathers. So the handler used crazy glue to reattach them, and the pigeon successfully performed its mission. Honest, that's what they told me! Doesn't look like this bird will have the same problem.
7
posted on
07/09/2010 9:10:28 PM PDT
by
SubMareener
(Become a monthly donor! Free FreeRepublic.com from Quarterly FReepathons!)
To: sonofstrangelove
Air Force Aims to Launch 'Spy Pigeon' Drone by 2015"[Name of County here] Department of Municipal Code Enforcement Aims to Launch 'Spy Pigeon' Drone by 2018"
8
posted on
07/09/2010 9:12:07 PM PDT
by
jiggyboy
(Ten per cent of poll respondents are either lying or insane)
To: dr_who
9
posted on
07/09/2010 9:14:15 PM PDT
by
Past Your Eyes
(No matter where you go there are always more stupid people.)
To: sonofstrangelove
10
posted on
07/09/2010 9:15:53 PM PDT
by
garjog
To: sonofstrangelove
Giving our troops more info while keeping them safe. Like it a lot! Just haven’t seen an OD pigeon before...
11
posted on
07/09/2010 9:23:10 PM PDT
by
bigbob
To: sonofstrangelove
Does it have a laser beam attached to its head?
12
posted on
07/09/2010 9:25:33 PM PDT
by
scott7278
("...I have not changed Congress and how it operates the way I would have liked." BHO)
To: scott7278
To: sonofstrangelove
14
posted on
07/09/2010 9:30:50 PM PDT
by
garjog
To: scott7278
That’s a frickin’ laser, bud!
15
posted on
07/09/2010 10:26:23 PM PDT
by
null and void
(We are now in day 531 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
To: sonofstrangelove
It’s a fantastic idea. This sort of stuff will revolutionize warfare in coming decades.
Imagine a hundred thousand of these things being released... semi automously flying around someplace like Afghanistan for weeks or months at a time. The intel value would be staggering.
Wait till they get the bug-sized drones working...
16
posted on
07/09/2010 10:42:58 PM PDT
by
Ramius
(Personally, I give us... one chance in three. More tea?)
To: sonofstrangelove
The greens will go crazy. The enemy will start shooting all real pigeons. It’s worse than windmills.
To: sonofstrangelove
"Nature," Lewis said, "never evolved a spinning rotor." What a truly ignorant man !!
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagellum"
I thought this would be an amazing article, but since the lead scientist running it is a complete buffoon, I am sorely disappointed.
18
posted on
07/09/2010 11:38:26 PM PDT
by
RachelFaith
(2010 is going to be a 100 seat Tsunami - Unless the GOP Senate ruins it all...)
To: RachelFaith
I am very glad you pointed it out! I did not know.Good Work
:)
To: sonofstrangelove
The eyes in the sky never blink.
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