Black Hornet 3
Country: 
United StatesManufacturer: Teledyne FLIR (ex Prox Dynamics)
The Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 3 is the smallest military nano-drone in operational service worldwide: just 33 grams, it fits in a soldier's palm and delivers EO/IR reconnaissance up to 2 km in total acoustic silence.
The Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 3 is the smallest military nano-drone in operational service worldwide: just 33 grams, it fits in a soldier's palm and delivers EO/IR reconnaissance up to 2 km in total acoustic silence.
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Data trust
- Reliability
- Unverified
- Sources
- Sources pending review
Identity
- Designation
- Black Hornet 3
- Alias
- FLIR Black Hornet PRS / Nano UAV
- Manufacturer
- Teledyne FLIR (ex Prox Dynamics)
- Country
- United States / Norway
- Year
- 2018
- Category
- Multirotor / Quadcopter
- Class
- Micro (< 250 g)
- Status
- In service
Performance
- Range
- 2 km
- Endurance
- 25 min
- Top speed
- 21 km/h
- Service ceiling
- 500 m
- Propulsion
- Elicottero elettrico bi-rotore coassiale
Physical characteristics
- MTOW
- 0.033 kg
- Payload
- 0.002 kg
Onboard systems
- Sensors
- EO 4K e termocamera FLIR Lepton non raffreddata
- Datalink / control
- Datalink digitale criptato AES-256
- Launch
- Lancio a mano dal palmo del soldato
- Recovery
- Atterraggio sul palmo del soldato
Combat use
- ▸Afghanistan (2013-) — first UK use with the Brigade Reconnaissance Force
- ▸Norway, UK, US — fielded with SOF and light infantry
- ▸Ukraine (2022-) — donated by Norway and the UK for trench reconnaissance
- ▸US Army Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) program — $39 M contract (2019)
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Main operators
History
Developed by Norway's Prox Dynamics (acquired by FLIR Systems in 2016), the Black Hornet PRS has been in British service since 2013 and from 2018 it was adopted by the US Army in the Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) program for ~3,000 units.
In 2023 the US Army selected the follow-on Black Hornet 4 for the SBS Increment II contract.
On the development side, Teledyne FLIR's Black Hornet 3 (formerly Prox Dynamics, Norway) is the smallest helicopter nano-drone in NATO service: 33 grams, 16.8 cm, pocket-sized, with EO and FLIR Lepton thermal sensors packed into a body the size of a sparrow.
On the individual-survival battlefield, the Black Hornet gives the single soldier a silent, near-invisible 'eye around the corner', used by US, UK, Norwegian, French, German, Dutch and Australian special forces and by Ukrainian troops along the Donbas front.
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