Within two years, British troops in Afghanistan may be able deploy a precision bomb that can hover overhead for up to ten hours before striking a target in a matter of minutes.

Currently being developed by the British Ministry of Defence, the Fire Shadow missile is a combination of a jet drone and a shell.

The Daily Mail newspaper reports it can fly over a patrol force or advancing troops until it needs to make a precise airstrike.

Then the missile can be targeted from the ground via a laser beam, from an aircraft or from an accompanying reconnaissance drone.

It delivers the 20-kg warhead with deadly precision.

The newspaper reports that the UK military wants to be able to use several Fire Shadows at once and plan to replace some Air Force patrols with them.

The Fire Shadow can stay in the air for ten hours and travel up to 160 kilometres.

It cannot be reused though and when the fuel runs out the missile is downed in a controlled crash.

The idea of a missile that stays airborne for a long time waiting for a command to attack is not new.

In early 1960, the U.S. wanted to develop cruise missiles with a nuclear ramjet engine.

The missile would circle in the air over a desert area at supersonic speed for months, and if a global war started, a command would send it towards its target.

The project, dubbed Pluto, was scrapped due to technological difficulties and environmental concerns.

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