Katya Tylevich

Russia’s Adorable New Unmanned Spy Thing

Russia’s military has a new unmanned drone — The Pchela-1, or if translated, “The Bee” — and it looks kind of a like a Nintendo Wii-inspired take on a military apparatus. With its charming, family-friendly vibe and sharp design, this critter puts the “cute” back in “surveillance aircraft.” We feel pretty good about something so adorable potentially hunting us down like wild, helpless prey with nowhere to hide.

RIA Novosti’s video of the “killer bee” in action boasts infrared cameras, weather-proof reliability, enhanced tracking accuracy, and a parachute to help avoid any “oops” moments (awww). Wired Magazine’s association of bloggers picked up the story and put a sinister spin to it, citing the timing of the drone’s release as particularly convenient, seeing as the Russians have been talking drones with Israel, lately.

Nah. This is just Russia’s solution to the global bee shortage.


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