Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet
A micro UAV providing situational awareness to ground troops.
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The Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet is a military micro unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) originally developed by Prox Dynamics AS of Norway. It is a small, hand-launched helicopter designed to provide troops with local situational awareness, transmitting video and still images to a handheld terminal via a digital data link and GPS. The Black Hornet is notable for its compact size—approximately 16 × 2.5 cm (6 × 1 in) and weighing 18 g (0.7 oz) with battery—and its use by multiple armed forces worldwide.
Quick Facts
- Dimensions
- 16 × 2.5 cm (6 × 1 in / 2.54 cm)
- Weight
- 18 g (0.7 oz) with battery
- Top speed
- 21 km/h (13 mph)
- Hovering time
- 20–25 minutes
- Camera complement
- Three cameras: forward
- straight down
- and 45-degree down
- Data link range
- 1.6 km (1 mile)
Facts from the source article.
Background
The Black Hornet was developed by Prox Dynamics AS of Norway, which was bought by Teledyne FLIR in 2016 for 134 million dollars. Teledyne FLIR specializes in the manufacture of IR cameras, like the one used on the Black Hornet. The UAV is launched from a small box that can be strapped to a utility belt, which also stores transmitted data.
Since the drone itself does not store any data, it is not an advantage if captured. Operators can steer the UAV or set waypoints for it to fly itself. An operator can be trained to operate the Black Hornet in 20 minutes.
A Black Hornet package contains two helicopters; when one needs to be recharged the other is ready to fly. In October 2014, Prox Dynamics unveiled a version with night vision capabilities, with long-wave infrared and day video sensors. Over 3,000 Black Hornets had been delivered as of 2014.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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