Black Hornet nano-UAV systems in development for U.S. Army SBS program
NewsMay 05, 2021
WILSONVILLE, Ore. FLIR Systems, Inc. announced that it has won an additional $15.4 million contract to deliver its FLIR Black Hornet 3 Personal Reconnaissance Systems (PRS) to the U.S. Army. The advanced nano-unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being used to augment squad and small unit-level surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities as part of the Army’s Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) program.
Officials claims that in late 2018 the U.S. Army began acquiring Black Hornet 3’s to support the SBS effort. Since then, it has placed orders totaling more than $85 million for the FLIR nano-UAV.
Designed to be light and well-suited for operations in contested environments, quiet, and with a flight time up to 25 minutes, the Black Hornet PRS transmits live video and HD still images back to the operator.
Its information feed is intended to provide soldiers with immediate covert situational awareness to help them perform missions more effectively. FLIR has delivered more than 12,000 Black Hornet nano-UAVs to defense and security forces worldwide.
