116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
VIDEO: Developers showcase hummingbird-shaped drone
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - A project manager has demonstrated a tiny spy plane with flapping wings like a hummingbird.
Matt Keennon of AeroVironment showed off the high-tech device Friday to journalists at company facilities in Simi Valley.
The aircraft with a 6.5-inch wing span can record sights and sounds on a video camera in its belly.
Developers say it can perch on a window ledge and gather intelligence unbeknownst to an enemy.
The craft can hover and move quickly in almost any direction, a capability defense officials want in a small aircraft for intelligence and reconnaissance.
The craft was developed for a U.S. defense agency, but it's not clear if it will ever leave the lab.
It buzzed Keennon's head before landing on his hand during the demonstration.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
Matt Keennon, program director at AeroVironment, demonstrates a tiny, drone aircraft known as the 'nano-hummingbird,' during a briefing at the company's facility in Simi Valley, Calif., Friday, Feb. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Daily Newsletters