Squads of disposable mini-satellites able to supply reconnoitering to soldiers at the "press of a button" are being deliberate by the US military.
The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) says the machines could supply tactical data at times when existing satellites were not in position.
Darpa has invited manufacturers to confer the plan .
It says the satellites should cost $500,000 (318,500) apiece.
"We prognosticate a constellation of tiny satellites, at a fragment of the cost of airborne systems, that would enable deployed warfighters to strike 'see me' on existing handheld gadgets and in reduction than 90 mins take a heavenly body picture of their correct place to assist in assignment planning," the group says in a statement.
It adds that any constellation should include of about 24 satellites able to stay in low-Earth circuit for 60-90 days before on fire up on re-entry.
Darpa says that contractors will probably have to make use of hurried production techniques more ordinarily related with the smartphone attention to encounter its cost target.
It adds that they will moreover must be "develop modernized technologies for optics, power, thrust and communications to keep size and weight down".
The US Army already has access to worker plane to supply comprehension from the skies. Last year it voiced new helicopter-style machines versed with 1.8 gigapixel cameras were due to go in to service in Afghanistan.
However, Darpa says such unmanned plane cannot casing lengthened domain without visit refuelling.
"With a SeeMe constellation, you hope to right away encouragement warfighters in multi-part deployed abroad locations concurrently with no logistics or continuance expenses over the warfighters' handhelds," mentioned Dave Barnhart, the programme's manager.
Elizabeth Quintana from the Royal United Services Institute counterclaim regard container told the BBC that the dare would be gripping the new technology to budget.
"Currently UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] and other airborne ISR [intelligence, notice and reconnaissance] properties are really renouned with belligerent infantry but the critique is that there is never sufficient and that bandwidth final make it tough to obtain imagery products deliver to the front line," she said.
"UAVs were adopted with affordability and disposability in thoughts but the many renouned platforms are as well costly to use in this way. The pretence will be to keep the expenses low sufficient that the network will be cheaper than existing airborne programmes and may be indeed disposable."
Darpa has organized a "Proposers' Day" to confer the plan serve on 27 March.
The statement coincides with headlines that the organisation's executive is leaving to work for Google.
Wired suggested that Regina Dugan is approaching to leave "sometime in the next couple of weeks". Google told the BBC that it was not nonetheless ready to divulge what purpose she would assume.
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