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British Army Use Tiny UAV the Size of a Toy with Night Vision Capabilities

Since 2014, the British Army has been using something called the Black Hornet Nano. It's not a killing machine, but a tiny UAV helicopter that can be deployed to scout enemy locations.
British Army Use Tiny UAV the Size of a Toy with Night Vision Capabilities 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
Scouting and gathering information have always been a crucial part of any war. It's for this mission that the first true aircraft were developed during World War I. But drones were originally developed by the US army for recon missions. So what's different about the Black Hornet?

Well, it's the first such device we've seen that's the size of remote control helicopters. The unit measures around 10 by 2.5 centimeters (4 × 1 in) and provides troops on the ground with local situational awareness. Are there troops over that fence? We don't know, but it's not worth risking soldier's life to find out.

The drones are small enough to fit in one hand and weigh just over half an ounce (16 g, including batteries). What's different here is that a computer takes care of all the flying, unlike with the toys you buy at the story.

Because of the small size of this vehicle, it doesn't classify as an aircraft, so the soldiers don't need special permission to launch the Black Hornet. The rotors are practically silent, and enemy combatants will have a hard time trying to hit such a small target. The downside is that its small dimensions make it particularly susceptible to the wind. Any strong gust will send it adrift.

You can buy an R/C helicopter online for about $10 these days. However, the UK paid its Scandinavian contractor a whopping £20 million for 160 units. Also included in the package is a small handheld terminal, which can be used by the operator to control the UAV.

The Hornets are being used by soldiers from the UK's Brigade Reconnaissance Force at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. They have been given a special coat of muddy paint to help them blend in with the battlefield environment.

On a full charge, the mini soldier can fly for up to 20 minutes at a top speed of 22 mph (35 km/h). Its operator can control it through trickier obstacles or let it go to a set GPS location on its own.

The Black Hornet Nano Prox Dynamics AS, based in Norway. In October 2014, the company unveiled a version of its PD-100 Black Hornet with night vision capabilities. The device has been fitted with both long-wave infrared and day video sensors that can transmit streams or high-resolution still images via a digital datalink with a 1-mile range, twice what the previous models had.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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