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A160T Hummingbird

Makers: Boeing

Max Speed: 165 knots (190 mph)

Length: 5 feet

Rotor Diameter: 36 feet

Weight: 2500 pounds



Special Features: Developed by Frontier Systems for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract, the Hummingbird has a unique carbon-fiber rotor blade which gives it far better range and endurance than other helicopters have. Standard metal blades are flexible, hinged and can only be run at certain speeds. The stiff blades of the Hummingbird are hingeless and work without vibration from 140 to 350 rpm, so the most efficient speed can be selected for the mission.



The Hummingbird holds the record for flight endurance—an 18.7-hour flight without refueling, in 2008—and longer flights are in prospect. Its ceiling of 30,000 feet is 10,000 feet higher than that of conventional helicopters. However, two crashes in the last year may have damaged its image.



Prospects for 2011: Special Operations Command are already quietly using the Hummingbird, but it should soon be appearing in the open. In December Boeing was awarded a $30 million Navy contract for two Hummingbirds to carry cargo in Afghanistan.



The Army has announced that it will be fielding the Hummingbird this year to give forces a "hover and stare" capability.



There is also a $12.8 million contract with DARPA to mount the all-seeing ARGUS-IS camera on a Hummingbird.