Hummingbird Rotorcraft Drone to get 1.8 Gigapixel Camera

The military has been using drones in Afghanistan and other places for a long time now most of the drones that we have heard of have been fixed wing aircraft like the Predator or Reaper drones. The military is getting ready to put a new drone into the field called the Hummingbird.

This drone is significantly different because it is a helicopter rotorcraft that can take off and land vertically. The Hummingbird will also carry the DARPA Argus-IS sensor system that has a 1.8-gigapixel color camera. The army calls the 1.8GP sensor the "largest ever used to conduct tactical missions."

The sensor is able to track people and vehicles from 20,000 feet above the ground and it will scan about 25 square miles at a time. The images can be downloaded in real time and sent to commanders for planning. The drone will be able to fly for up to 12 hours at a time.

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