Fortunately for you, researchers are working on a disappearing airborne delivery technology to solve just this problem—well, maybe not exactly this problem.
With $3 million in funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Carnegie Mellon engineers are developing specialized polymers for single-use parachutes that will disintegrate on command in response to an electrical trigger.
On-Demand Disintegration
The problem begins at the molecular level.
For the parachute to disintegrate, the polymers comprising it will have to undergo depolymerization, in which large macromolecule polymers break down into their constituent parts, called monomers. This requires a chemical reaction, and this reaction has to be electrically triggered.
Even if the engineers can come up with a suitable method to achieve depolymerization, the polymers themselves must be appropriately selected to handle the range of conditions necessary for clandestine spy work.
“A lab is a very precise, controlled environment, but in the field, these parachutes will be exposed to a wide range of variants like temperature, wind, sunlight, moisture, and other non-controllable factors that could activate the chemical reaction prior to the parachute reaching its target,” explained Christopher Bettinger, one of the researchers on the project. “The material will have to be stable enough to be reliably functional, yet transient enough to break down on command.”
The research is part of DARPA’s ICARUS Program, which is seeking to develop vanishing drones and devices for the military. So while disappearing parachutes may not be the sexiest spy gadget imaginable, the technology could eventually lend itself to drones that vanish after use. I think even Q would be impressed with that.
For more espionage engineering, find out how this British technology initiative aims to develop new spy gadgets.