{"id":46211,"date":"2018-05-31T21:18:48","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T21:18:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/05\/31\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:39:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:39:03","slug":"this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2018\/05\/31\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\/","title":{"rendered":"This minidrone can transform squad-level reconnaissance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army has made its first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2015\/04\/06\/rpgs-grenades-and-dummies-9-soldier-tested-gadgets\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">batch <\/a>order of a helicopter-style <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2016\/04\/03\/army-wants-mini-drones-for-its-squads-by-2018\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\" data-original-title=\"\" aria-describedby=\"popover61695\" style=\"\">minidrone<\/a> that can be used by individual soldiers for short range reconnaissance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2015\/09\/22\/marines-get-a-closer-look-at-black-hornet-micro-drone\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" style=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Black Hornet<\/a>\u201d continues to perform at Army expectations in ongoing tests it could be one of the soldier-borne sensors distributed across Army infantry units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The PD-100 Black Hornet was first purchased by the Army in small quantities to meet recon needs of troops in Afghanistan in 2016. It weighs 18 grams, can shoot video and take snapshots with its camera and previous versions had about a 25-minute flight time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some mini-drones can only shoot video.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/02\/28\/army-constantly-upgrading-drone-counter-drone-gear\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Black-Hornet.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Army constantly upgrading drone, counter-drone gear<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Army&#039;s Rapid Equipping Office shows the latest upgrades to drone and counter-drone technology for soldiers downrange.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flir.com\/products\/black-hornet-prs\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">The FLIR Systems drone<\/a> is part of a $2.6 million contract for personal reconnaissance systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe United States Army\u2019s selection of FLIR to provide the Black Hornet PRS in this initial delivery of the Soldier Borne Sensor program represents a key opportunity to provide soldiers in every U.S. Army squad a critical advantage on the modern battlefield,\u201d said James Cannon, President and CEO of FLIR Systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Black Hornet is the first batch order for the Soldier Borne Sensor program. Low level sensors have been a focus across squad, platoon and company efforts for both Army and Marine programs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"872\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/BH-Image.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-82591\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/BH-Image.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/BH-Image.jpg.jpg?resize=300,218 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/BH-Image.jpg.jpg?resize=768,558 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/BH-Image.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,744 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Army recently contracted with FLIR Systems to order $2.6 million worth of the &#8220;Black Hornet&#8221; mini-drone. In use since 2016, the next generation version of the helicopter-like drone could reach infantry units across the Army (Pfc. Rhita Daniel\/Marine Corps)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marines have also tested the Black Hornet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials with the Army\u2019s Rapid Equipping Force told Army Times earlier this year that the new version of the Black Hornet will be nearly twice the size of past versions because the larger size will allow it to carry \u201cpayloads.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">REF officials did not identify what types of payloads might be used by the minidrone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to a FLIR Systems press release, delivery of the new Black Hornets is expected this calendar year. The company did not specify the quantity of drones to be supplied to the Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ksrqQ0FnNew?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen title=\"2016   U S  Army Commercial   Microdrone\"><\/iframe>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Black Hornet mini-drone has been in use by soldiers and Marines since 2016. This most recent contract brings a next generation version to soldiers and could become a common squad-level sensor across infantry units.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":84266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":69,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[69,17],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3393],"class_list":["post-46211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gearscout","category-off-duty"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"V37PE74I2VFHNPYGA263HN5HWA","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2018\/05\/31\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>This minidrone can transform squad-level reconnaissance - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Black Hornet mini-drone has been in use by soldiers and Marines since 2016. This most recent contract brings a next generation version to soldiers and could become a common squad-level sensor across infantry units.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/05\/31\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This minidrone can transform squad-level reconnaissance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Black Hornet mini-drone has been in use by soldiers and Marines since 2016. This most recent contract brings a next generation version to soldiers and could become a common squad-level sensor across infantry units.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2018\/05\/31\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-31T21:18:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T03:39:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd South\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd South\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/31\\\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/31\\\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"This minidrone can transform squad-level reconnaissance\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-05-31T21:18:48+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T03:39:03+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/31\\\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 340,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/31\\\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Black-Hornet.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"GearScout\",\n\t                \"Off Duty\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/31\\\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/31\\\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/31\\\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"This minidrone can transform squad-level reconnaissance - 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