Military Flying Saucers Coming

They’re not science fiction anymore. Researchers have built a real life flying saucer that looks and flies like a B-movie dream. The unmanned craft takes off vertically, maneuvers well, and can land almost anywhere. Cheaper and safer than a helicopter, the Defense Department thinks the saucer could become a staple in urban war zones, Discovery News reports.

The saucers are powered by a propeller above their bowl-like bodies, which pushes air down around their outer surfaces, generating lift . The craft can fly or hover in winds up to 10mph, and can be scaled from a foot-long disk to a large craft. The only problem is fuel efficiency. The fan eats batteries quickly, a problem the aliens never seemed to have. (More Flying Saucer stories.)