Invisible eye in the sky

Okay, Special Forces are moving into the realm of Enemy of the State technology.

Some of the pointless billions wasted on systems that are useless against insurgents (F-22, B-2) will be diverted towards the production of something called the Hummingbird.

The Hummingbird is a remotely-piloted-vehicle with one hell of a camera (1.8 GIGA pixels) and the ability to hang around.

Danger Room explains:

The Hummingbird is unique in its ability to hover at high altitude (over 15,000 feet) and its endurance of over 20 hours. This means it can park high in the sky and scan a wide area. Robo-chopper camera-maker BAE Systems says that its imager will be able to cover an area of over a hundred square miles. The refresh rate is fifteen frames per second and a "ground sample distance" of 15 centimeters –- this means that each pixel represents six inches on the ground.

Meaning the Hummingbird is way the hell up in the air - stays there all day - and can spot objects as small as a kleenex box.

Combine that with the ability to track bullets in flight - and you get a major boogeyman feeling. (Picture rewinding this kind of film to see the bullet hitting its target, then playing it in reverse to locate its shooter.)

Ground forces with a realtime God's-eye-view can seriously mess up conventional forces.

Freaky.