Tech Talk

August 2005

Mini Spy in Sky Passes Flight Test

edited by Robert H. Williams

A tiny autonomous reconnaissance craft—the brainchild of Honeywell of Phoenix, Ariz., and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency—successfully went through its first paces at a facility in Laguna, N.M.

The 13-inch micro air vehicle was designed to be carried in the field by a single soldier. It is outfitted with forward and downward looking cameras and in the recent test took off, maneuvered to waypoints and landed on its own. It can operate in day or night.

The MAV was conceived as a system to provide soldiers with enhanced situational awareness, improved security and the capability to acquire targets from the air in urban and rural settings.