On the Wings of War On the Wings of War

Scientists study the flight of hummingbirds to design robots for drone warfare.

Hummingbirds zooming around the garden from flower to flower and sipping nectar probably don’t appear at first glance to be models for instruments of war.

But the tiny thrumming birds are unparalleled aerial acrobats, power in miniature, instantly zipping forward and backward, diving quickly down and soaring back up, pitching, rolling and yawing, and even flying upside down.

Their sophisticated flying abilities have captured the attention of robot designers, especially those studying the use of drones in modern warfare.

“Hummingbirds are the best flyers out there,” said Bret Tobalske, professor of biology and director of the Flight Lab at the University of Montana. “They are extreme in their physiology and flight performance. They are incredibly maneuverable. They are capable of hovering indefinitely” — an adaptation driven by a love of energy-rich nectar.

As vehicles without crews have taken over the skies in conflicts, hummingbirds have become the subject of new research. The Flight Lab, accustomed to looking at the ecology, evolution and biomechanics of bird flight, is part of a broad effort, funded largely by U.S. defense dollars, to build a better robotic hummingbird. Mimicking these highly adapted birds — a phenomenon known as bio-inspiredtechnology — is the holy grail for the makers of flying robots.

“A real hummingbird can fly circles around robotic humming birds,” Dr. Tobalske said. “They can fly circles around real birds too.”