BELIZE IS TESTING GROUND FOR BOEING AND US MILITARY JUNGLE SPY HELICOPTER.

(Taken from the Belize Culture Listserve)
WATCH OUT FARC TERRORIST CAMPS and VICIOUS BANDITS in Venezuela camps and Colombia. The ORINICO OIL RESERVES are going to bring new tools to wipe you murderous, kidnapping, drug producing, extortionists out!

Belize Defense Force along with US military units are below the jungle canopy in remote Belize, while the computer operated helicopter searches for them.


Special Forces’ Robocopter Spotted in Belize

* By Olivia Koski Email Author
* August 9, 2010 |
* 4:56 pm |
* Categories: Drones
*

Watch out, humans, the U.S. military has released an all-seeing, unmanned helicopter into the wild, according to Aviation Week. The Boeing A160T Hummingbird was photographed in Belize, where it was test flying a tree-penetrating Darpa radar called FORESTER. Locals were given a heads-up thanks to a press release from the U.S. Embassy. There’s no sign of the document on the website, but local reports say that the the Belize government invited the U.S. to test the Hummingbird in a mountain range 25 miles from the Guatemalan border. A few dozen military personnel – both Belizean and American – are involved in the testing, which will last until September.

U.S. Special Forces Command got its new toy in November of 2008, but at the time the unmanned hovering helo couldn’t see through trees. The synthetic-aperture radar now onboard is designed to detect slow moving people and vehicles – even if they’re hiding in dense foliage. It enables super high resolution imaging by using the motion of the helicopter to create an artificially large aperture. It was designed specifically for the unmanned A160T platform, which can fly 2,500 nautical miles for 24 hours at up to 30,000 feet. It represents a completely new approach to helicopter design, with a special adjustable-speed rotor enabling it to be super quiet.

No word on if this particular model is armed, but the robocopter – officially dubbed the YMQ-18A by Special Ops – can carry up to eight Hellfire missiles. The unmanned vehicle might also be useful in urban areas or in Afghanistan, where its radar could help it surveil forested mountains and bring supplies to special forces teams at night. The U.S. Special Operations Command is so excited about the things it doubled its order for ‘em last year.

In competition with Boeing’s A160T Hummingbird is Northrop Grumman’s MQ-8B Fire Scout. This spring, a prototype of the unmanned helo, operating off of the frigate USS McInenry, helped bust up a drug deal at sea. 60 kilograms of cocaine were seized, and another 200 kilos were thrown overboard, according to the Navy.

Of course, neither robocopter truly flies itself. They either have a pilot controlling them remotely, or a pre-determined computer program. The only true self-flying full-size helicopter is the Unmanned Little Bird, which had its inaugural no-humans-involved flight in June.

Photo: Boeing

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/08/special-forces-robocopter-spotted-in-belize/#ixzz0wDJOe9ln