British Soldiers in Afghanistan deploy Micro UAV Helis

British Soldiers in Afghanistan deploy Micro UAV Helis

Above: This updated image released by the British Army Monday Feb 4 2013 of Sergeant Scott Weaver, of The Queens Royal Lancers launching a newly issued Black Hornet miniature surveillance helicopter MUAV during an operation in Afghanistan. The Scandinavian-designed Black Hornet Nano weighs as little as 16 grams (0.56 ounces) β€” the same as a finch. The four-inch-long (10-centimeter-long) helicopter is fitted with a tiny camera which relays still images and video to a remote terminal. Troops used the drone to look for insurgent firing points and check out exposed areas of the ground before crossing. (AP Photo/ Sgt Ruper Frere)

 Black Hornet miniature surveillance helicopter MUAV

LONDON (AP) β€” British soldiers in Afghanistan have been issued with surveillance drones so small they can fit in the palm of a man’s hand.

The Scandinavian-designed Black Hornet Nano weighs as little as 16 grams (roughly half an ounce) β€” the same as a finch. The 4-inch (10-centimeter) -long helicopter is fitted with a tiny camera which relays still images and video to a remote terminal.

Black Hornet Nano

“We used it to look for insurgent firing points and check out exposed areas of the ground before crossing, which is a real asset,” said Sgt. Christopher Petherbridge, with Britain’s Brigade Reconnaissance Force. In a statement, he called the Hornet easy to operate and said it offered “amazing capability to the guys on the ground.”

Black Hornet Nano

The military said Sunday that the toy-like Hornet is capable of flying even in windy conditions.

Black Hornet Nano

It said the Hornet was developed by Norway’s Prox Dynamics AS as part of a 20 million-pound ($31 million) contract for 160 units with southern England’s Marlborough Communications Ltd.

Black Hornet Nano

Drones of all shapes and sizes have rapidly become a mainstay of U.S., British and other nations’ military operations around the world. Late last year the U.K. said it was doubling the size of its armed drone fleet in Afghanistan to 10 with the purchase of a new batch of Reapers.

Updated: July 15, 2015 — 10:07 AM

4 Comments

  1. They should have had China develop at a cost of about $30.00.

  2. 20 million-pound ($31 million) for 160 MSRXs……..E-Flite must be so disappointed! πŸ˜‰

  3. It would have cost the US even more.

  4. Charles, Charles, Charles, who do you think probably actually built them for the Scandinavians’ to rip off the British government?

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