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Boeing robot whisper-copter team claims record | The Register 

Mammoth US arms'n'aerospace firm Boeing has announced test successes for its prototype robot whisper-copter, the A160T "Hummingbird". The company believes ... it has broken the world endurance record for unmanned aircraft in the A160T's weight class with a flight lasting longer than 18 hours. The possibly record-breaking test took place last week at the Yuma proving grounds in Arizona. Boeing say that the droid-copter landed with better than 90 minutes worth of fuel remaining, and carried a 300-pound payload during the flight. "The aircraft performed flawlessly, flying un-refueled longer than any other current unmanned rotorcraft. Our customers are excited about this." Those customers include the US forces, and DARPA - the Pentagon's famous deathboffinry bureau, whose brainboxes prefer to avoid the beaten track*. Various people from these communities would like to use Hummingbirds to carry new and amazing sensors and spyeyes, or perhaps even to pick up or drop off people deep behind enemy   [More...] [Less...]