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Teledyne FLIR Defense has presented its new Black Hornet 4 personal reconnaissance system at the Association of the United States Army 2023 conference in Washington DC.
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The next-generation covert situational awareness nano-drone reportedly provides improved range, endurance, signature, and imagery data over its predecessor, the Black Hornet 3.
The single rotor, 70-gram, Black Hornet 4 unmanned aerial vehicle has an extremely low visual and audible signature, enabling it to identify threats day or night without being detected.
The system is able to launch in less than 20 seconds and is reportedly well suited for missions in GPS-denied environments, to rapidly identify targets beyond visual line-of-sight and assess weapon effects in real time.
“Black Hornet 4 takes the features and capabilities that made Black Hornet 3 world renowned to the next level,” according to Dr JihFen Lei, Teledyne FLIR Defense executive vice-president and general manager.
“We’ve worked closely with customers and end users to make this system even more valuable for dismounted soldiers in need of situational understanding or engaged in covert operations, where precise and immediate intel is crucial.
“Black Hornet 4 is future-proof nano-drone technology.”
Black Hornet 4, designed in Norway, has the addition of a new 12-megapixel daytime camera with superior low-light performance, plus new high-resolution thermal imager, and delivers video and still images to the operator.
Flying time has been extended to more than 30 minutes with a range greater than two kilometres and the system can fly in 25-knot winds. Flight performance has been augmented by new obstacle avoidance capabilities and an advanced battery.
FLIR Defense has previously delivered more than 20,000 Black Hornet PRS systems to military and security forces in over 40 countries. Additionally, Black Hornet drones are currently being used in Ukraine through donations made by the British and Norwegian governments.
The US Army originally acquired Black Hornet drones as part of the Soldier Borne Sensor program five years ago and has since placed orders totalling more than $125 million.
In July, the US Army awarded Teledyne FLIR a five-year contract worth up to $94 million for additional Black Hornet systems.
Teledyne’s operations are primarily located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Western and Northern Europe.
Unmanned Aerial Systems began being rolled out to Australian Army soldiers in Brisbane following the completion of the Black Hornet Nano UAS Program in 2018.
