Bug-Sized Lethal Drones Adjust content blocking viralnewz next random Comment Top NextComment Looks like we have the makings of a new arms race at hand. The winner will develop the tiniest lethal drone capable of blending into a crowded cityscape. The Atlantic's Conor Friedersdorf points to a National Geographic piece on the future of drone technology, including one fascinating passage on how the U.S. Air Force is developing "micro-drones" the size of tiny creatures, capable of flying through major cities unnoticed. The science writer, John Horgan, described what information he was able to access from the government: The Air Force has nonetheless already constructed a "micro-aviary" at Wright-Patterson for flight-testing small drones. It's a cavernous chamber—35 feet high and covering almost 4,000 square feet—with padded walls. Micro-aviary researchers, much of whose work is classified, decline to let me witness a flight test. But they do show me an animated video starring micro-UAVs that resemble winged, multi-legged bugs. The drones swarm through alleys, crawl across windowsills, and perch on power lines. One of them sneaks up on a scowling man holding a gun and shoots him in the head. The Air Force describes these new "micro-air" weapons as "Unobtrusive, pervasive, lethal." Yikes. I share Friedersdorf's sentiment that this video is "horrifying" — namely because it signals that drone warfare is the next arms race. According to Horgan, however, the U.S. government "takes seriously" the potential for widespread proliferation of "micro-drone" technology among terrorists and governments: What, one might ask, will prevent terrorists and criminals from getting their hands on some kind of lethal drone? Although American officials rarely discuss the threat in public, they take it seriously. next Tags: funny | Crash | lol | accident | crashes | News | owned | Prank | action | Cars | epic | fail | sexy | stunts +3 Views: 1747 Submitted: 02/19/2013 Facebook Twitter Google+ Tumblr Pinterest