Small drones for the Army

[Russell Holton]

Looks very interesting. I can see how it would be helpful. Since it's made by FLIR, I suspect it will also have thermal imaging capability which would make it harder for the enemy hide in camouflage.

US military equipped with tiny spy drones

The US Army aims to give almost all of its ground combat units tiny drones which can spy on other forces from the sky.
...
The drones, described as "highly capable nano-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems," measure only 6.6-inches across and weigh less than 33 grams.

The drones have a range of 1.24 miles at speeds of up to 13.35 mph and are able to fly for up to 25 minutes on a single charge.

In addition, the UAVs can take HD photos and provide live video feeds. Data sent to operators on the ground, equipped with a handheld ground control station (GCS) unit which communicates with the drone, is AES 256 encrypted.

[Dave Siciliano]

There certainly are times it would be great to see over the next hill, around the next corner or down through the trees ahead. This could also perhaps take a better look at a defensive position before attack. Lots of close in potential uses. Of course, small, quiet with better loiter time is always great. This also means the bad guys will be trying to do the same. FLIR always bothered me as a ground guy when trying not to be discovered.