A research project, funded by Darpa, the Defense Department’s mad science division, is looking at ways to make planes start acting more like plants.

Plants twist to catch the sun’s rays or stiffen when they’re watered. Researchers at Virginia Tech would develop smart materials that use plant protein structures and mimic biological systems.

Such material would allow the creation of biologically inspired engineering systems, leading to planes able to pull back their wings when they are ready to attack, or extend them to glide.

The research is part of a whole range of efforts by Darpa to make materials that act a little like living things.

Via Defense Tech.