Olson said their home was still standing as of Tuesday, when they saw an aerial shot of its roof line and that of their neighbor.

CNN: Family films frantic escape from Colorado wildfire

But even in Libya, which had a front-line and a terrain more vulnerable to aerial attack, bombing took a long time to weaken Qaddafi's forces.

ECONOMIST: Arab revolutions

Its pilot line in California will supply solar cells for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used by the military.

FORBES: Strategic Investor To Green Tech Startups: Get A Grip

Mr Marshall said current rules meant Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) could only be used when in the line of sight of their operators.

BBC: Drones backed by Hampshire chief constable

This type of tag, however, requires a buoy to carry the aerial, and this is attached to the shark by a ten-metre-long line. (The line is needed because the sharks themselves rarely break the surface, and the transmitter cannot signal to the satellite from under water.) Two American biologists, Scott Eckert and Brent Stewart, from the Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute in San Diego, have had some success with satellite tracking.

ECONOMIST: Whale sharks