66 ModelAirplaneNews.com
AltonStewa rtisthepublicaffairsofficer
fo rProgramExecutiveOfficerSoldierat
Fo rtBelvoir,Virginia,theheartoftheArmy’s
fieldingprogramfo rthenewtechnology.He
tellsusthatthepurposeofthedroneisnot
high-qualityresolution.“TheSoldierBorne
Sensorprovides‘quicklook’capabilityfro ma
coveredandconcealedpositiontoimproved
situationalawareness.”Inotherwords,the
droneprovidesabattlefieldviewthatwould
notbeavailablewithoutputtingasoldier
inharm’sway .Theaircraftcanflywithor
withoutGPS,soitcangoinsidebuildings,
caves,ortunnels.Black Hornet
The miliTary’s new eye in The sky
Although this tiny helicopter has a rotor diameter of 4.8 inches and
weighs in at just under 1.6 ounces, it’s no toy: both the U.S. Army and the
Marine Corps are fielding Flir’s “Black Hornet,” also known by its military
designation as “PD-100.” The unit has swappable batteries and can
handle light rain and winds gusting over 20mph. With 640x480 video
and 1600x1200 stills, the camera resolution does not rival anything
cinematic, but it does have thermal-imaging capabilities, and it can fly
for 25 minutes with a range of 1.24 miles.
Undisclosed location, Southwest
Asia—U.S. Marine Corps Lance
Cpl. Chandler Gardner launches
a PD-100 Black Hornet micro
unmanned aerial system. (Photo
by Cpl. Gabino Perez)Stewa rtsaysthattheArmylookedata
numberofdifferentunitsbeforeselecting
Flir’sdrone.“TheArmyconductedafly-
offin2018.Thefly-offincludedcontrolled
designtestsaswellassimulatedmissions
conductedbysoldiers.Theresultsofthefly-
offshowedthatFlirSystems’BlackHornet
meetsmoreofthedefinedrequirements
thananyoftheothersystemsassessed.”
Theunitsa recurrentlybeingsenttoU.S.
militaryinstallationsaroundtheworldand
willultimatelybepartofeve ryclose-combat
unit’sstandardequipment.
Flirwa sdelightedwithi tsselection,which
wa stheculminationofadecadeofresearch.
“TheBlackHornetdevelopmentstartedin
2008,”saysOleAguirre,theseniordirector
ofFlir’sUnmannedSystems&Integrated
SolutionsDivision.“Thesystemwa sori-
ginallydesignedbyasmallNorwegian
start-up,P roxDynamics,andwhenFlir
acquiredthecompanyinlate2016,ithad
alreadydeliveredtwogenerationsofthe
BlackHornetNanoU AVs :theBH1andBH2.
ThesystemwedelivertotheU.S.Army
undertheSoldierBorneSensorprogramis
thelatestGen 2 withtheBlackHornet3.”
Aguirretellsusthat,eve nthoughthe
designlookslikeatoy ,militarydrones
a reseriousbusiness.“Militarycustomers
demandnothingbutthebestfo rtheir
soldiers.Thisgoesbacktothefactthatif
theirequipmentfailsduringoperation,it
mayultimatelyresultinlossoflifeors eve re
damageorinjury.Whenwedesignour
unmannedsystemsandsolutions,theyneed
toberobust,rugged,silent,powerefficient,
hardtodetectorspoof,andworkeve ry
time.Thatissomuchmorethanwhatyo u
candemandfro macommerciallydeveloped
dronesystem.”
ThatdemandledFlirawayfro mthecom-
monquadcopterdesigntothetraditional
rotor/tail-rotordesign.Flirengineerssayit’s
amatterof“SWaP”:size,weight,andpower.
Aguirreexplains,“Inordertogetthetotal
weightofthesystemdowntoanacceptable
level,weneededtodesignthemostenergy-
efficientandadvancedflyingmachineto
carrythesensors,autopilot,radio,andbat-
teriesneededfo roperatinginawar-fighting
environment.”Headds,“ Wewantedtop rove
thatthehelicopterdesignwa sthemost
efficientfo rthemissionsthatneededtobe
carriedoutbyasquadorsmallteam.”The
designwa stechnicallymoredifficult,butin
theend,theFlirteamknewthatifitwe re
hardtodo,itwa sprobablyworthit.
Thiscoollittlecopteris,unfortunately,
onlyavailablefo rgovernmentpurchase.JBY JEFF CHAVES
FINAL APPROACH