Six army units in Singapore will get mini spy planes locally manufactured by the end of the year, becoming fully incorporated into the country's arsenal by 2012, local media reported this week.

Billed Skyblade III, the unmanned aerial vehicles are mounted with a camera, allowing reconnaissance troops to "beam real-time video images of things beyond a soldier's line of vision," The Straits Times reported.

This information is then analyzed by the operators before it is reported to higher headquarters.

"With the Skyblade III, scout teams can now better assist commanders in decision-making by providing more timely information," said Senior Lt. Col. Ong Chee Boon. "They can report terrain conditions and the presence of opposition forces in real time," he told the Murai Urban Training Facility.

Designed to be lightweight and portable, the battery-operated unmanned aircraft will have a wingspan of 7 feet and a range of about 5 miles. It will be able to stay in air for up to an hour.

"Research on earlier models and commercial unmanned aircraft vehicles from the United States and Israel allowed the army to finally come up with a mini drone that is best suited to the Singapore armed forces and its troops," The Straits Times reported.

The spy-crafts are designed to resemble birds, emitting little noise and requiring about 20 minutes to launch.

"In the past, we had to get very close to opposing forces in order to gather information," reported Defense Talk citing Quek Jian Lian, a scout team commander in the 3rd Singapore Infantry Regiment. "With the Skyblade III, my team can be further away from hostile territory, yet still give accurate reports to my commanders," he said.

The Skyblade III can be launched either by hand or through bungee-assistance.

The latter suggested the drone will be sitting on launching rails while connected to a sling-shot like rig. Once triggered, Defense Talk reported, "the rig powers the mini-UAV into the air and mechanically disconnects when the Skyblade III is safely airborne."

"To land, the mini-UAV performs a deep stall and an airbag is deployed from its belly which cushions the impact from landing," the report said.

Skyblade III was developed in collaborative arrangement between ST Aerospace and DSO National Laboratories, the government's defense research and development entity.

Work to bring the Skyblade III advanced capabilities to the battalion scouts and Brigade Reconnaissance Surveillance Targeting Acquisition Teams within these units started in 2009. By the end of 2010, they are expected to be operationalized on the system.

To date, 44 Skyblade III operators have been trained.