The United States Army has a new tool in their arsenal. A UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) named the A-160 Hummingbird....The Hummingbird is designed to fly 2,500 nautical miles with endurance in excess of 24 hours and a payload of more than 300 pounds. The autonomously-flown A160 is 35 feet long with a 36-foot rotor diameter. It will fly at an estimated top speed of 140 knots at ceilings up to 30,000 feet, which is about 10,000 feet higher than conventional helicopters can fly today. Future missions for the A160 include reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition, communications relay and precision re-supply. The UAV uses the ARGUS-IS system which recently passed tests after being used on the UH-60 Blackhawk.
The ARGUS-IS (Autonomous Real-Time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance Imaging System) sensor is the most potent in the Army’s arsenal.
