Black Hornet, the military nano drone small like an insect

The Prox Dynamics’ PD-100 Black Hornet 2 is a tiny drone having the dimension of a flying insect and a lot of advanced features.

Drones are privileged instruments of surveillance, we read about vehicles equipped with IR cameras or devices to spy on mobile devices.

These vehicles are used by armies, intelligence and law enforcement agencies during their operations, and new projects are working to their miniaturization to make them useful for new usage scenarios.

Today I want to present you a new vehicle, the Prox Dynamics’ PD-100 Black Hornet 2 that has something of special, it is around the size of an insect.

The vehicle is small, and as an insect is difficult to identify, it doesn’t emit any particular noise.

The Prox Dynamics’ PD-100 Black Hornet 2 is a tiny drone equipped with a high-tech camera, according to the i-hls.com it is currently used by the British Army and is under testing for the US Army Special Forces.

“This is what they use when they check out enemy compounds,” said Arne Skjaerpe, CEO and president of Proxdynamics USA.

Such kind of tiny drone can operate in any condition and doesn’t request prior airspace coordination because it doesn’t interfere with other vehicles.

“The Black Hornet 2 nano sensors are inherently safe and pose virtually no risk to other air vehicles or personnel, allowing the system to be operated almost anywhere at any time without prior airspace coordination. The Black Hornet’s small size and electric motors makes it virtually inaudible and invisible beyond short distances.” states the official website of the Proxdynamics company.

The characteristics of this drone make it a special vehicle, it ha a rotor span 120 of mm, it can be con concealed in one hand and it weighs just 18 grammes, making it easily transportable. The Black Hornet is equipped with both normal and thermal cameras, it has an autonomy greater than 25 minutes. Below the features advertised on the website:

Below the features advertised on the website:

• Rotor span 120 mm
• Mass 18 g including cameras
• Maximum speed 5 m/s
• Endurance up to 25 minutes
• Digital data link beyond 1600 m line-of-sight
• GPS navigation or visual navigation through video
• Autopilot with autonomous and directed modes
• Hover & Stare, preplanned routes
• Steerable EO cameras (pan/yaw and tilt)
• Live video and snapshot images

The Black Hornet is controlled through a small, handheld remote control, a live view screen makes it easy to drive. The mini-drone also implements a GPS-guided autopilot. Prox Dynamics offers a training simulator add-on (compatible with VBS 3) to help

The Prox Dynamics also offers a training simulator, which could be used to train the PRS operator “enhancing user effectiveness and saving time and costs at the same time“.

How much cost the Black Hornet?

It is offered for sale at $40,000 per unit, a small expense in the military industry.

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – Black Hornet drones, military)