With drones increasingly being used in warzones and becoming harder to detect, experts have raised concerns about their implications for defence. But researchers from the University of South Australia and Flinders University say they have built a new model that has improved drone detection ranges by up to 50% – using a hoverfly. That’s not a fancy bit of tech – it’s an insect… Over the past decade, scientists have been analysing and mapping its itsy-bitsy brain to replicate its excellent vision. The resulting model worked better than researchers had hoped, with their capabilities boosted to be able to identify a flying object located 4km away. And while lead researcher Dr Russell Brinkworth says our Defence Force – which partly funded the research – is “very interested” in the development, the technology is “universally applicable”. Pretty cool, eh?