由 J. Nelson
"AeroVironment’s project manager Matt Keennon demonstrated a tiny hummingbird-shaped spy plane to journalists on Friday, Feb. 25, at the company’s Simi Valley, California facilities.
"This small aircraft has a wing span of 6.5 inches, and includes a video camera in its belly which is able to record both video and audio. The developers say that it is able to fly up to a window and 栖息, 鲈鱼 on its sill in order to gather intelligence without being detected 由 the target.
"The 蜂鸟 craft is able to hover 或者 fly rapidly (reaching speeds of up to 11 miles per hour) in virtually every direction, which is an ability that defense officials are seeking for their reconnaissance and intelligence aircraft. Though the technology has been created over a five-year project for a U.S. defense agency, it is not yet known whether it will ever actually be used outside the laboratory.
"Todd Hylton, 蜂鸟 program manager for the research arm of the Pentagon, 说 that the success of the technology 'paves the way for a new generation of aircraft with the agility and appearance of small birds'."
