Britain Will Soon Send 850 New, Near Silent, 11 MPH, Black Hornet Microdrones to Kyiv For Future Risky Spy Missions

Developed in Norway and presently produced by California-based Teledyne Flir, 850 Black Hornet microdrones are being sent to Ukraine to support their battle against Russia’s recent invasion. As announced by Norway’s Ministry of Defense on Wednesday, the UK and Norway are responsible for the additional aid to Ukraine. [i]

It is suggested that the $9.3 million Black Hornets would “give Ukraine the ability to not only spy on Russian positions but conduct more accurate weapons’ damage assessment.” Furthermore, because of the incredibly small size of the microdrones and their near silence, they are described as “more useful for close-in recon than consumer drones like the DJIs [unmanned commercial drone] widely used by Ukrainian forces which are audible from some distance. [ii]

The Black Hornet features a flight time of up to 25 minutes packed in its pocket-sized, combat-proven shell. In addition, the microdrone transmits live video and HD still images directly to the operator. It is beneficial for reconnaissance, target identification, and combat in urban areas, as seen in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict. [iii]

Ukraine will also receive a $10.4 million anti-drone system. The NightFighter by SteelRock Technologies is a portable system capable of protecting against drones by implementing effective jamming. Most notably, the system boasts that it is,

Particularly suitable for protecting smaller patrols, artillery positions and other important resources.” [iv]

In the ongoing conflict, it was reported on Aug. 20, 2022, that Russia allegedly downed several Ukrainian drones in Crimea. The provision of the NightFighter anti-drone system could potentially result from incidents like the one that occurred recently in Crimea. [v]

The video below details the most recent attack on Ukrainian drones.

References

[i] Bruce Crumley, UK, Norway send $9 million in Teledyne Flir drones to Ukraine, (Aug. 24, 2022)

[ii] Le Vanhao, Britain to donate Black Hornet ‘microdrones’ to Ukraine for spy missions, (Aug. 24, 2022)

[iii] Army Recognition, Norway and UK to donate Black Hornet micro drones and SteelRock Nightfighter anti-drone system to Ukraine, (Aug. 24, 2022)

[iv] Id.

[v] PBS, Russian air defense systems down Ukrainian drones in Crimea, (Aug. 20, 2022)