{"id":44685,"date":"2019-02-12T21:07:52","date_gmt":"2019-02-12T21:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/12\/the-army-is-buying-this-pocket-sized-drone-in-bulk-for-recon-at-platoon-and-below\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:29:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:29:34","slug":"the-army-is-buying-this-pocket-sized-drone-in-bulk-for-recon-at-platoon-and-below","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/02\/12\/the-army-is-buying-this-pocket-sized-drone-in-bulk-for-recon-at-platoon-and-below\/","title":{"rendered":"The Army is buying this pocket-sized drone in bulk for recon at platoon and below"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/02\/28\/army-constantly-upgrading-drone-counter-drone-gear\/\" target=\"_blank\">pocket-sized helicopter drone<\/a> that\u2019s been used by a select number of soldiers in real-world operations now might become <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/05\/31\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\/\" target=\"_blank\">standard kit<\/a> across a multitude of platoons in the Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army awarded a $40 million contract to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flir.com\/news-center\/press-releases\/flir-systems-awarded-$39.6-million-contract-for-black-hornet-personal-reconnaissance-systems-for-us-army-soldier-borne-sensor-program\/?utm_source=affiliate&#038;utm_medium=referral&#038;utm_campaign=Skimlinks&#038;cjevent=73696e462ee811e982d400f90a24060c\" target=_blank>FLIR Systems <\/a>to provide the \u201cBlack Hornet\u201d personal reconnaissance systems under the Army\u2019s Soldier Borne Sensor program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It 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\">Many 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\/05\/31\/this-minidrone-can-transform-squad-level-reconnaissance\/\" 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\">This minidrone can transform squad-level reconnaissance<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">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\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\">The nano-drone, which has GPS-guided autopilot, will support platoon- and small unit-level surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities as part of the Soldier Borne Sensor program, according to a FLIR release.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=2b6b3d2a-c039-4e14-be1f-bda5320007ab\" poster=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/video-poster-2b6b3d2a-c039-4e14-be1f-bda5320007ab.png\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Clint Emerson and Weston Scott check out FLIR&#8217;s Black Hornet micro-sized surveillance drone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The company states that the mini-drone \u201cbridges the gap between aerial and ground-based sensors,\u201d and it offers the same situational awareness as larger drones and the \u201cthreat location capabilities\u201d of unmanned ground vehicles.<\/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 James Cannon, president and CEO of FLIR Systems, told Army Times in mid-2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"448\" height=\"251\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FLIR-Black-Hornet-VRS.gif.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-39713\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The FLIR Vehicle Reconnaissance System holds four sparrow-sized drones at once, and can go on both crewed and remotely operated vehicles. (Gif capture from YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At that time, the sensor systems program had purchased a batch of the mini-drones for testing. The recent announcement expands the program across the Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The exact number of drone systems $40 million will buy was not available, but publicly reported figures suggest that could purchase as many as 1,000 drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What wasn\u2019t clear in the release was the version of drone that the Army bought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Army Rapid Equipping Force officials told Army Times last year that a newer version of the Black Hornet used in Iraq and Afghanistan by dismounted soldiers for the past two years will be nearly twice the size of the current drone, which weighs just 18 grams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The increased size will allow the new version to carry payloads, though officials did not disclose what types of payloads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635950346231071888-021113dn-nano-uavjpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-74298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635950346231071888-021113dn-nano-uavjpg.jpg 960w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635950346231071888-021113dn-nano-uavjpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635950346231071888-021113dn-nano-uavjpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sergeant Scott Weaver, of The Queens Royal Lancers launches a Black Hornet, Nano UAV from a compound in Afghanistan during Operation QALB.\r \rOp QALB is a joint ISAF and ANSF operation, its aim is find enemy caches and disturb Insurgent supply chains.  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The drone can fly for nearly half an hour and it can range for more than a kilometer.<\/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":70,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","kit","gearscout","off-duty"],"primary_category":"your-military"},"9":{"categories":["uas","unmanned","unmanned-systems","newsletters","home","daily-brief"],"primary_category":"uas"}}},"categories":[100,23,92,93,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3366],"class_list":["post-44685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"HSYMFICKXNBN5CB6EQWO5LV4O4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2019\/02\/12\/the-army-is-buying-this-pocket-sized-drone-in-bulk-for-recon-at-platoon-and-below\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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