The Royal Armed Forces (FAR) will have a weapon of the latest technology which only a few rare countries have and which will be of unparalleled usefulness for land units and particularly artillery.
It is a nano drone, the FLIR Black Hornet 3 better known as the black hornet, which is only used by a few large armies such, those of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Israel, Australia, Turkey, India… This combat drone, which is not necessarily armed, is used for reconnaissance and target identification missions. It’s easy to handle, tough, hard to detect, and perfectly suited for combat in urban areas.
This system is developed by the Norwegian company Prox Dynamics, a subsidiary of the American group FLIR. Designed to save lives and minimize collateral damage, it discreetly detects and identifies threats day and night. It also increases movement speed and expands maneuvering options.
The FLIR Black Hornet PRS equips the non-specialist infantryman with a discreet and immediate situational awareness tool. From revolutionary EO technology [électro-optique] and IR [infrarouge]it bridges the gap between aerial sensors and ground sensors, offering the same quality as larger drones and UGV IED tracking functions.
Extremely light, it weighs 18 grams and measures 10 cm long, 2.5 cm wide and is compact enough for an infantry soldier to carry on his belt, or in a pocket of his fatigues. It is almost silent, and has a flight time of 25 minutes. This pocket-sized, battle-tested Black Hornet transmits live video and HD stills to the operator,” explains the manufacturer on its website. Similar to toys, these kinds of miniature helicopters called “Black Hornet” had been used for the first time in Afghanistan by the British Army with great efficiency.
The Black Hornet plays a major role in the balance of power in ongoing wars. The “black hornet can be sent to a specific location using a navigation system equipped with GPS (Global Positioning System), take pictures along its path at specified points, conduct reconnaissance in territory enemy then, automatically return to its base. Also it can work in hard to reach places.
Some of these drones were recently delivered to Ukraine, and they have come in handy. Its dangerousness lies in its size, because it is impossible for any air defense system to shoot it down precisely because of its small size. Billed around 40,000 euros, all of the equipment (chest bag including a screen, two nanodrones, a remote control) weighs no more than a kilo and a half. The FAR will acquire it very soon.