Teledyne FLIR Defense has secured a contract, valued at up to $91m, to provide the US Army with its latest Black Hornet 4 Personal Reconnaissance Systems.
These advanced nano-uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) will be acquired under the Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) programme Phase II.
The initial order of $25m received by the company will facilitate the delivery of the first batch of Black Hornet 4 drones, controllers, spare parts, and training.
Deliveries under the latest SBS Phase II orders commenced in September.
The US Army initiated the acquisition of Black Hornet 3 systems for the original SBS programme in 2018. Since that time, it has placed orders exceeding $215m for this drone.
The Black Hornet systems are incorporated into military operations of more than 40 countries.
These were first introduced at the Association of the US Army (AUSA) conference in Washington, in October 2023.
The drone features a high-resolution Thermal Imager (TI) and an Electro Optical (EO) camera that excels in low-light conditions.
Designed for portability and rapid deployment, the Black Hornet 4 enables military personnel to obtain real-time video and images from a secure vantage point.
Teledyne FLIR Defense president Dr. JihFen Lei said: “The Black Hornet 4 stands out as the world’s most capable nano-UAS for the world’s most high-risk missions.
“We are honoured the Army continues to place its trust in us as drone-of-choice provider for Soldier Borne Sensor, and we’re proud to see our technology making a real difference for warfighters on the battlefield.”
In 2023, Teledyne FLIR Defense secured a contract to augment the capabilities of the R80D SkyRaider UAS.
This contract, awarded by the US Department of Defense, was valued at approximately $13.3m.
