World’s Smallest Nano-UAS – Soldier’s Best Friend

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France is advancing its Operational Pocket Drone (DrOP) program. The French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) has awarded FLIR Systems with a $89 million contract to provide the Black Hornet 3 nano-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) to support French Armed Forces operations.
The Black Hornet PRS is the world’s smallest combat-proven nano-Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and is currently deployed in more than 30 countries.
This drone enables the warfighter to maintain situational awareness, threat detection, and surveillance no matter where the mission takes them, according to financialpost.com.
Equipped with electro-optical/infrared sensors and the ability to fly up to 25 minutes, the Black Hornet bridges the gap between aerial and ground-based sensors, provides the same situational awareness and threat detection capabilities as larger unmanned air and ground vehicles.
The nano-UAS was launched in June 2018 for use by global militaries, government agencies, and first responders. It represent the cutting-edge in the combat nano-UAS space, enabling small combat units, SWAT teams, and first responders with immediately available intelligence, target-acquisition, and reconnaissance capability. At 32 grams, the Black Hornet 3 offers the lowest size, weight, and performance for UAS available. Offering improved speed and distance compared to previous versions, the Black Hornet 3 flies 2 kilometers at speeds of over 21 kilometers an hour.
It also incorporates sharper imaging processing featuring the FLIR Lepton thermal microcamera core and a visible sensor to allow greater image fidelity, according to businesswire.com. The design also features an improved encrypted military-approved digital datalink, enabling seamless communications and imagery significantly beyond line-of-sight and in closed areas.

France is advancing its Operational Pocket Drone (DrOP) program. The French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) has awarded FLIR Systems with a $89 million contract to provide the Black Hornet 3 nano-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) to support French Armed Forces operations.
The Black Hornet PRS is the world’s smallest combat-proven nano-Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and is currently deployed in more than 30 countries.
This drone enables the warfighter to maintain situational awareness, threat detection, and surveillance no matter where the mission takes them, according to financialpost.com.
Equipped with electro-optical/infrared sensors and the ability to fly up to 25 minutes, the Black Hornet bridges the gap between aerial and ground-based sensors, provides the same situational awareness and threat detection capabilities as larger unmanned air and ground vehicles.
The nano-UAS was launched in June 2018 for use by global militaries, government agencies, and first responders. It represent the cutting-edge in the combat nano-UAS space, enabling small combat units, SWAT teams, and first responders with immediately available intelligence, target-acquisition, and reconnaissance capability. At 32 grams, the Black Hornet 3 offers the lowest size, weight, and performance for UAS available. Offering improved speed and distance compared to previous versions, the Black Hornet 3 flies 2 kilometers at speeds of over 21 kilometers an hour.
It also incorporates sharper imaging processing featuring the FLIR Lepton thermal microcamera core and a visible sensor to allow greater image fidelity, according to businesswire.com. The design also features an improved encrypted military-approved digital datalink, enabling seamless communications and imagery significantly beyond line-of-sight and in closed areas.