The US Air Force wants to buy one example of a new type of small unmanned aerial vehicle for experiments. Developed by MLB of Palo Alto, California, the 8.5-pound aircraft has a wingspan of 1.5 meters. It carries a 1-pound color video camera with a 45-degree view field. The aircraft has an endurance of only one hour and a range of only eight miles. It travels at 18-45 miles per hour and can reach 2,500 feet altitude. It uses GPS for navigation. Launched by hand, it is recovered by a parachute. A laptop computer provides the ground controls.--Stephen V Cole