U.S. Army Orders Black Hornet 4 Nano-Drones

Teledyne FLIR Defense has won a five-year contract worth up to $91 million to provide its Black Hornet 4 Personal Reconnaissance Systems to the United States Army.

The nano-unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are being acquired under the Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) program, Phase II.

Teledyne FLIR has received $25 million in initial orders that will cover delivery of the first tranche of Black Hornet 4 drones, as well as controllers, spare parts, and training.

The U.S. Army began acquiring Black Hornet 3 systems for the original SBS program in 2018. Since then, they have placed orders totaling more than $215 million for the multi-faceted drone. Soldiers are using the UAVs to augment squad and small unit surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

The Black Hornet 4 system is designed to be easy for the soldier to carry, launch quickly, and then provide video and images back to the operator. This capability provides soldiers with situational awareness more safely from a protected position.

The Black Hornet 4 is designed and built by Teledyne FLIR Defense in Norway. Deliveries of the latest SBS Phase II orders began in September.