Swarming surveillance drones, each about the size of a human palm, may become part of the US Navy’s spy arsenal.
The US Navy Research Laboratory has been developing the CICADA — for Close-In Covert Autonomous Disposable Aircraft — for more than ten years, and the project is now concluding a final testing round.
Each of the devices, which resemble flying circuit boards, carry pressure, temperature and humidity sensors. The Navy is working on ways to fire dozens of drones from aircraft-mounted launch tubes.