DARPA Vision: "Unblinking" Spy Drones Which Can Surveil A Location For Years

The Pentagon's far-out science division wants an unmanned, "unblinking eye from above" to watch over an area for "weeks, months, even years." And if that doesn't do the surveillance trick, veggie-eating killer robots on the ground will pick up the slack. You may now break out the tinfoil hats.

Today's Global Hawk reconnaissance drones can stay in the air for up to 40 hours. DARPA program manager Wade Pulliam would like to increase that by 10,000 times, or more -- getting a robotic surveillance plan that can stay in the air for 5 years, or 44,000 hours, straight. The project is called "Vulture." And it won't be easy, Pulliam admits. After all, the Global Hawk goes through a "major service cycle" every 400 to 600 hours. How could Vulture stay in the air that long without that kind of maintenance? And while we're at it, what about the fuel that thing will need?

Maybe the thing will have to be built like a satellite, he mused -- with lots of redundant subsystems. Maybe there will be some sort of automatic, in-flight refueling and servicing. Maybe the "system [will] incorporat[e] modular pieces which fly home when a fault is detected," a Vulture briefing guesses. But it'll all be worth it, Pulliam promises, to have an "unblinking view circling indefinitely just 12 miles above [a] target." Not even a team of satellites could scope foes out so well, he insists. And unlike satellites, the Vulture might be able to "strike" targets, too, according to the briefing, which depicts the drone has a kind of modified version of AeroVironment's hydrogen-powered, long-loitering planes.

The Vulture won't be the only machine that stares at enemies, if Pulliam has his way. He's like to see teams of autonomous, camouflaged ground vehicles, "slowly working their way into position" and then "lying in wait to strike when ordered."

Of course, these killer 'bots can't exactly be refueled -- it'd blow their cover. So maybe the machine could power up by "consuming organic material from the surrounding environment." Or perhaps a drone overhead could beam some power down to the groundling.

Either way, the idea is to not allow potential foes "an inch of space, not allow them a moment's rest, not allow them to have an easy breath."

I have a feeling a few others may have respiratory troubles, if Pulliam's plans pan out.