How small can a drone be? AeroVironment Inc. may have the answer with Snipe, a 5-ounce, pocket-sized unmanned aircraft that the Monrovia company has sold to a branch of the U.S. military. Snipe was developed, manufactured and tested at AeroVironment’s Simi Valley facility. Last month the company delivered 20 of the mini-quadcopters to an unnamed military customer, the only order that it has announced. Steve Gitlin, a company spokesman, called the Snipe an extension of the line of small, hand-launched drones that has made AeroVironment the largest supplier of the aircraft to the U.S. and allied militaries. At 5 ounces, the Snipe is smaller than the smallest of its drones, the Wasp, which weighs 3 pounds, he added. For the military, the mini-drone provides reconnaissance and intelligence gathering for individual soldiers, Gitlin said, adding, “It can fit into cargo (pants) pockets and gives frontline fighters the ability to see within 1 kilometer of where they are.” The Snipe can fly up to 15 minutes on rechargeable batteries in day or night conditions and can withstand wind gusts up to 20 miles per hour. It carries two sensors, one with color video and the other with infrared video, both capable of tilting up or down, Gitlin said. “It makes it easier to maintain a direct line of sight on something of interest, whether it is looking for a lost person or supporting a military operation,” he added. The company has not disclosed the cost of the aircraft. AeroVironment engineers, however, did not have to start from scratch when designing the Snipe. Instead, they borrowed technology used in the miniature 6.5-inch Nano Hummingbird unmanned aircraft developed in 2011 with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. That included small-scale components and software for providing control, stability and propulsion of the aircraft. “A lot of what we learned and developed for the Hummingbird went into developing the Snipe,” Gitlin said. While the military is the primary customer for the Snipe, a derivative of the aircraft can be made for commercial use, a market that AeroVironment is moving into now that the Federal Aviation Administration has released its rules on the operation of drones in the national airspace. This spring, the company began selling Quantix, its first drone made specifically for civilian customers. As for the Snipe, a commercial version would be sold if a market exists, Gitlin said. “First responders could find it useful – police, fire, search and rescue personnel, for example,” he added. – Mark R. Madler