Deadly insect-size drones on the US military service

The U.S. Air Force is developing miniature insect-sized drones that will fly in swarms, hover like bees, and crawl like spiders to perform unprecedented surveillance tasks and carry out deadly targeted missions., Daily Mail reports.

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory released a promotional video about their new project, The Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs), that can find, track and target adversaries while operating in complex urban environments. The project promises to revolutionize war by downsizing the combatants.

MAVs may perform direct attack missions on terror suspects, resulting in a lethal surprise. “It could be equipped with incapacitating chemicals, combustible payloads, or even explosives or precision-targeting capability.”

The tiny drones will be equipped with a vision-based technique called “optic flow,” which can be used when GPS is unavailable, and the information will be transferred through combined sensors. “Data will be communicated amongst the MAVs to enable real time, reliable decision-making and to provide an overall surveillance picture for other platforms or operators,” described in the promotional video.

The developers believe that the MAVs “will become a vital element in the ever-changing war-fighting environment and will help ensure success on the battlefield of the future.”

Besides the United States, other countries are seeking to develop insect-sized drones, including Germany, France, the Netherlands and Israel.