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As we see in nature, bees and mosquitoes are more effective when they work together in a swarm. Well, Boeing is taking a page directly from mother nature by testing out a new technology that will allow UAVs to communicate and operate as a group. The aerospace giant used swarm technology, developed by the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL), to allow different types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to collectively search a test area, map the terrain and create their own flight path, while simultaneously sending information to teams on the ground.

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We have been covering the idea of “small being the new big” for sometime now when it comes to new innovations in warfare. From the development of nanosatellites that are more effective and less expensive than traditional satellites to the use of nanomissiles for launching these tiny satellites, it is a whole new world of innovation and things are getting, well, smaller. According to a recent New York Times article, the next innovation is drones that are as tiny as bugs and birds. Yes, you heard that correctly. These will be tiny drones that mimic animal flight patterns and will fire missiles into Pakistan and spy on insurgents in Afghanistan.

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As anyone who works in the Intel community knows, we are drowning in a sea of data. Is too much of a good thing bad? Yes. But the key is having the right tools — and not necessarily more personnel — for synthesizing the data and making it actionable and timely. Defense News came out with a story yesterday that addresses this topic and we have pulled out key soundbites from Intel leaders and other insights (as well as real solutions) for your reading pleasure. Happy Tuesday.

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Energy efficiency and innovation are the name of the game when it comes to a new new solar powered drone being developing for the Pentagon by Boeing. Dubbed the SolarEagle, this innovative drone will be capable of flying for five straight years at 60,000 feet. According to the LA Times, Boeing recently announced it had won the $89-million contract with DARPA to develop a prototype of the SolarEagle that can demonstrate it can stay aloft for 30 days by 2014. According to DARPA, the program will “enable a re-taskable, persistent pseudo-satellite capability in an aircraft package. The technology combines the key benefits of an aircraft (flexibility & responsiveness, sensor resolution, reduced transmit/receive power, affordable deployment) with the benefits of a satellite (on- station persistence, no logistics tail, zero emissions, energy independence, minimal fleet size, absence of in-country footprint).” Very interesting stuff. Is this the future of GEOINT? Check out more here.

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As our faithful got geoint? readers know, every so often we like to do mid-week news round up — especially when the news cycle is chock full of GEOINT-related stories that will change your life for the better. Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but these are some compelling stories about UAVs, Boeing’s Phantom Eye and much, much more. So, what’s a good catch phrase for a Wednesday news round up post? Ahh, we’ll just use an old favorite. Here we go: fire up that second cup of coffee and read on.

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Welcome once again to the Wednesday GEOINT 2008 video installment. Today, we are featuring the keynote by Kevin P. Meiners, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Portfolios, Programs and Resources within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, who discusses the Pentagon’s rapid development plan for acquiring more UAVs and other capabilities. Scroll down to view the video:

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We hope everyone had a productive work week. We are wrapping up the week with a unique Friday’s Food for Thought post that highlights the interesting, funny and down-right bizarre. From coverage of the intelligence community infiltrating the Web 2.0 world, to a bizarre iPhone application for snipers and an Olympic video added in for some light humor.

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