United States Army is going to deploy three Unmanned Boeing A160 Hummingbird alike helicopter for one year basis trial program to Afghanistan in July, 2012. Flying process and many other things are different from Predator, which is already serving in the battle zone. These special new fighters which have 1.8 Giga-pixel camera are made for Surveillance.
Boeing A160 Hummingbird is a rotor-based aircraft capable of Vertical take-offs and landings. Moreover, the craft will be affixed with the DARPA’s (The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency). ARGUS-IS (Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System). To be noted, in Greek mythology, Argus was a watchman (or a monster) with 100 eyes. As having a 1.8 giga-pixel camera, the US Army is able to track people and vehicles from altitudes above 20,000 feet. Not only this, but also, ARGUS will be able to scan almost 25 square miles that allows the operators to scan a wide field of view and download images. Without refueling, it can fly for twelve hours or more. It also can monitor up to 65 enemies of the State simultaneously and automatically.
Now, Army developers and engineers are working on wiring on the A160 and performing ground tests with ARGUS. As the ARGUS sensors has never been imputed/implemented in any other, so they are adding some different types of antennas in order to ensure the complete integration. Test flights will begin at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona in 2012.
“This is a very usable system that will provide an enormous (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) multiplier for the troops,” Leininger (who started the ARGUS-IS program just over three years ago) said. “It gives them a new and better way to see what is around them with a big eye in the sky.” Now we can have a sound sleep with any worries.
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“Now we can have a sound sleep with any worries”?
This is a very worrying thing. And America is going to just sleep and ignore it…