Photos: Unmanned vehicles take to air, land and sea

The Navy Fire Scout is an unmanned helicopter that is likely to be an important part of the family of new littoral ships (i.e., ships capable of traveling in shallow waters) the U.S. Navy is planning to inaugurate over the next few years, according to Delores Etter, the Navy's assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition. Developed by Northrop Grumman, the machine takes off and lands vertically and can be packaged with the necessary equipment into a standard shipping container. That's key, Etter said, because the Navy wants the ships to be "big empty areas" whose mission can change overnight. The Fire Scout is expected to be outfitted with sensors that can, among other things, collect real-time video images of a scene, seek targets and assess battle damage.