Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet

Background

The Black Hornet was developed as part of a £20 million contract for 160 units with Marlborough Communications Ltd. It is launched from a small box that can be strapped to a utility belt, which also stores transmitted data. The drone does not store any data itself, so capture does not compromise information. Operators can steer the UAV or set waypoints for it to fly autonomously. It has three cameras: one forward, one straight down, and one at 45 degrees downward.

A package contains two helicopters; while one recharges in 20–25 minutes, the other is ready to fly. In October 2014, a version with night vision capabilities was unveiled, featuring long-wave infrared and day video sensors. Over 3,000 Black Hornets had been delivered as of 2014.

The Black Hornet was used by soldiers from the UK's Brigade Reconnaissance Force at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan during Operation Herrick, flying into enemy territory to take video and still images. It was withdrawn from service in 2016/2017.

Designed to blend with muddy grey walls in Afghanistan, it could fly for 20 minutes on quiet electric motors to look around corners or over walls. The US Army selected the PD-100 in July 2014 under the Cargo Pocket Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance program, later testing it in March 2015 and deploying it with US Marine Corps special operations teams by 2015. In 2018 the US Army bought 60 Hornet 3 drones, and in 2022 another 300; an undisclosed number were bought in 2023, some intended for Ukraine.