'Hummingbird' spy drone unveiled

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A California company says it has developed a miniature spy plane for the Pentagon dubbed the Nano Hummingbird for battlefield and urban surveillance.

AeroVironment, of Monrovia, says the camera-equipped drone can fly at speeds of up to 11 miles per hour, hover, and fly sideways, backward and forward as well as turn clockwise and counterclockwise, all by remote control, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

The company built the drone for the Pentagon's research arm as an experiment in nanotechnology, designing it to look like a bird for potential use in spy missions, the newspaper said.

Industry experts say a flying "hummingbird-like" aircraft is a step toward technology that could produce drones capable of flying through open windows or sitting on power lines, capturing audio and video while enemies would be none the wiser.

"The miniaturization of drones is where it really gets interesting," defense expert Peter W. Singer, author of a book about robotic warfare, said. "You can use these things anywhere, put them anyplace, and the target will never even know they're being watched."