9 amazing spy gadgets
Agents from the DGSE, CIA, or other spy units may not use jet-packs or laser watches, but they do have a few tricks up their sleeves. Here are some of them in this article.
At the CIA museum in Washington, for example, you can get a glimpse of gadgets used in past spy missions.
The agency has declassified 600 of the roughly 20,000 items used by CIA agents throughout history, museum director Toni Hiley tells Tech Insider. Current agents are constantly on the lookout for old gadgets to craft new ones.
"Revisiting technology is something we always do in the spy world," Hiley says. "There is no such thing as too old technology for operations."
From hidden cameras, to flies on the walls, here are the 9 most fascinating gadgets in the collection.
A pipe that hides a radio
This man's pipe from the 60s hides a radio receiver. The sound travels from the main tube to the agent's ear.
A camera that fits in a pack of cigarettes
A pigeon that carries messages
Unfortunately, the photos of these pigeons are still classified.
The copter insect
Thanks to a mini motor, it can fly 650 meters for 60 seconds via a remote control. The large wingspan of the dragonfly allows it to fly easily, but it is impossible to control it, even in a light crosswind.
A hint of "deadly drop"
A device that detects intruders
A mirror hiding secret codes
"Charlie", the robot fish
In the 1990s, the CIA developed "Charlie" to collect underwater signals from enemy ships. Controlled by a radio remote control, the catfish contains a microphone in the body and a propulsion system in the tail.
A camera that takes microscopic photos
The device could reduce entire pages to microscopic pieces of film, called microdots. These photos were then stored in other inconspicuous objects, such as rings, hollow coins and mail. The microdots were often embedded in the sentence periods of the letters, which the recipients read under a microscope.
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