Cutting Edge: Tiny Spy Planes

April 13, 2001 -- As a Marine moves through a field of battle, he may have no idea what foes or obstacles lie in wait.

A new technological advance may soon give him a way to find out.

The Marines Corps Warfighting Lab and Naval Research Lab soon will award a contract to build 40 miniature planes that can be stored in a soldier's backpack, assembled in the field of battle, and sent on one-hour missions to beam back live pictures of enemy positions.

"What we're trying to do is provide those small unit leaders an organic capability to launch a UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] whenever they choose to see over the hill or the next building," says Maj. John Cane of the Warfighting Lab. "It will be the first small, man-packable UAV that will be fielded in the U.S. armed forces."

Eight prototypes of the Dragon Eye, as it's called, already exist, and the 4.3-pound, five-piece device has been in the pipeline for several years. But decision day on the project may be approaching. The units are expected to cost $5,000 each.

The Marines expect to have the 40 new units in hand next January, and then give some to troops in the field to experiment with in different environments. Around August of next year, the Marine Corps will decide whether to build more units and field the system more widely, Cane says.

The Dragon Eye's two electric engines run quietly on battery power. It carries either a day- or night-vision camera in its nose. It can fly at an altitude of up to 500 feet.The battery and lens it carries can weigh a total of about a pound. It could also feasibly carry sensors to, say, detect weather or poisonous gasses, or devices to relay communications.

Its position and point of view are monitored on a 10-pound ground control station that also is portable, and will cost an estimated $10,000.

"It's fully autonomous, meaning the marine on the ground does not actually fly the vehicle," Cane says. "What the marine does is program a route. … All he does is touch the screen, basically connect the dots."