The development program for the A160 began when DARPA awarded a 30-month technology demonstration contract to San Diego-based Frontier Systems in March 1998, owned by UAV pioneer Abe Karem.
In June 1999, Frontier tested the autonomous flight control system with the Maverick-A, a modified Robinson R22.
This test bed was lost during a crash in 2000, after having flown for 215 hours.
The first prototype, a three-blade A160, demonstrated a brief hover on December 7, 2001 and performed its first forward flight on January 29, 2002.

A four-blade version of the A160 flew in November 2002 using a Subaru four-cylinder engine, and later a six-cylinder piston engine.
Frontier Systems was awarded a contract for four more A160s in October 2003.
A total of three vehicles were produced by Frontier Systems.
Vehicles 1 and 3 were lost in crashes.
Frontier began a planned KW600 Diesel engine for the vehicle, but never completed it.
A Diesel engine would have nearly doubled the vehicle endurance due to lower fuel consumption.

Frontier Aircraft, and later Boeing, carried out the A160 program as part of a series of contracts with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the United States Army, and the United States Navy from 2003.
In September 2003, DARPA awarded Frontier a $75 million contract for the design, development and testing of four A160s.

The A160's rotor includes blades whose stiffness and cross-section vary along their length.
Their low loading and rigid, hingeless design allows for changing RPM between 140 and 350 using a two-speed transmission to optimize efficiency at different speeds and altitudes, a technique called "optimum speed rotor technology", invented by Abe Karem.
It is primarily because of these features that the Hummingbird can fly with less power - and thus use less fuel - than comparable conventional helicopters, which only adjust blade pitch and keep the rotor at constant rpm.

In August 2005, Frontier Systems, by then a Boeing subsidiary, received a $50 million contract from the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division "to assess the military utility and affordability of a long-range VTOL UAV employing a wide variety of adaptable payloads".

In October 2007, DARPA awarded Boeing a $6.3 million contract to deliver an A160T aircraft and modified pod for the Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System (ARGUS-IS) program.
In 2008, DARPA considered stub wings carrying weapons.
The development program for the A160 began when DARPA awarded a 30-month technology demonstration contract to San Diego-based Frontier Systems in March 1998, owned by UAV pioneer Abe Karem. In June 1999, Frontier tested the autonomous flight control system with the Maverick-A, a modified Robinson R22. This test bed was lost during a crash in 2000, after having flown for 215 hours. The first prototype, a three-blade A160, demonstrated a brief hover on December 7, 2001 and performed its first forward flight on January 29, 2002.
A four-blade version of the A160 flew in November 2002 using a Subaru four-cylinder engine, and later a six-cylinder piston engine. Frontier Systems was awarded a contract for four more A160s in October 2003. A total of three vehicles were produced by Frontier Systems. Vehicles 1 and 3 were lost in crashes. Frontier began a planned KW600 Diesel engine for the vehicle, but never completed it. A Diesel engine would have nearly doubled the vehicle endurance due to lower fuel consumption.
Frontier Aircraft, and later Boeing, carried out the A160 program as part of a series of contracts with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the United States Army, and the United States Navy from 2003. In September 2003, DARPA awarded Frontier a $75 million contract for the design, development and testing of four A160s.
The A160's rotor includes blades whose stiffness and cross-section vary along their length. Their low loading and rigid, hingeless design allows for changing RPM between 140 and 350 using a two-speed transmission to optimize efficiency at different speeds and altitudes, a technique called "optimum speed rotor technology", invented by Abe Karem. It is primarily because of these features that the Hummingbird can fly with less power - and thus use less fuel - than comparable conventional helicopters, which only adjust blade pitch and keep the rotor at constant rpm.
In August 2005, Frontier Systems, by then a Boeing subsidiary, received a $50 million contract from the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division "to assess the military utility and affordability of a long-range VTOL UAV employing a wide variety of adaptable payloads".
In October 2007, DARPA awarded Boeing a $6.3 million contract to deliver an A160T aircraft and modified pod for the Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System (ARGUS-IS) program. In 2008, DARPA considered stub wings carrying weapons.
Boeing A160 Hummingbird