Drones, which are the unmanned aerial vehicles that we look at today were been brought out differently by the Central Intelligence Agency in the 1970s.
It was called The Insectothopter and was the size of a dragonfly. They have designed it to look lie a dragonfly so that it would avoid other people’s noticing. Also, the dragonfly’s appearance was brought out nicely by painting it just like a real dragonfly.
In order to function the wings to stimulate the dragonfly’s flight, a miniature gas engine was used. When it came to advancing and flying it they were successful, but it was nearly impractical to control it in windy environments due to its miniature size. Therefore the project was abandoned.
After seven years of waiting and requesting them since early 2013 records of their research and development were finally released in January 2020. The following video which was released by the CIA describes the project.
Even though this project was terminated pretty soon another similar project will be developed with the advances of technology and with the increasing number of unmanned aerial vehicles.
Considering the given locations of USA’s major opponents, the ideal way to obtain important intelligence and to invade opposed territories is owning a UAV which looks similar to an insect. The real question is how much longer it would take until these vehicles will be developed into weapons, that can take out a target within their territory. And for people who are cautious about government overreach (Snowden anyone?). Also, how long will it take until this kind of technology is utilized to detect USA citizens?
Ruvindi Ranatunga
I am an International Business Management undergraduate from the University of West London (UWL) and completed the Higher National Diploma in Business Management (SQA). Apart from my studies, I am a freelance writer.
