Teledyne FLIR announced on 28 February that the company will supply its Black Hornet 4 personal reconnaissance system for the German Army via a two-year contract with Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr: BAAINBw). Zona Militar spoke with Nils Haagenrud, Senior Director-UAS at Teledyne FLIR Defense, about this contract, a similar recent contract with the US Army, and the present and future of the family of Black Hornet nano drones.
The order for the German Army will involve “hundreds” of uncrewed aerial systems (UASs), Haagenrud told Zona Militar; the Teledyne FLIR representative declined to discuss the delivery timetable. “This is a big, important contract for us. From our understanding, this contract is the first of many that the BAAINBw will push forward. We expect more orders in the coming years as soon as the [German Armed Forces] start fielding the systems” of the current contract, Haagenrud explained. The Black Hornet 4s will be fielded by Q3/Q4 of 2025.
The contract award was facilitated by Teledyne FLIR’s regional partner, European Logistic Partners (ELP) GmbH of Wuppertal, Germany, as the contractor for BAAINBw. In response to a question by Zona Militar about the German armed forces’ experience with the Black Hornet, Haagenrud explained , “this is the third time that we are under contract by BAAINBw,” going back almost a decade; FLIR has previously delivered Black Hornet 3 nano drones. However, the contract for the Black Hornet 4s “is by far the largest and shows that they are investing in the capabilities that the Black Hornet 4 provides.”
This is the second high-profile contract regarding the Black Hornet in recent months. Last October, the company announced a five-year contract “worth up to US$91 million” for the US Army under the Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) program, Phase II. Teledyne FLIR has received US$25 million in initial orders to cover delivery of the first tranche of Black Hornet 4 drones, including controllers, spare parts, and training. Deliveries of the latest SBS Phase II orders began in September; however, FLIR Defense declined to discuss whether and where the systems are already being deployed on the field.
Like the German armed forces, the US military is already familiar with the Black Hornet. The US Army began acquiring Black Hornet 3 systems in 2018 as part of the original SBS program. Since then, they have placed orders totaling more than US$215 million for the multi-faceted nano drone.
The Black Hornet 4, like its predecessors, is a nano drone designed for dismounted soldiers at the squad level. The system has a rotor diameter of 190 mm and a weight of around 70 grams; the payload includes a 12 MP electro-optical camera and a low resolution camera for indoor navigation and collision avoidance. The nano drone can fly over 30 minutes, at around 10 meters /second, and function in 25-knot winds and rain, with a radio range of more than two kilometers. The Black Hornet, manufactured in Norway, “provides soldiers with situational awareness more safely from a protected position,” the company explains.
Zona Militar asked Haagenrud about the future of the Black Hornet 4 and whether a “Black Hornet 5” is in development. The Teledyne FLIR Senior Director explained, “we are always thinking about the future.” With that said, the Black Hornet 4 has the most modern hardware available, including processors. Hence, the focus is now on expanding the nano drone’s software capabilities. “We are learning a lot from Ukraine, like target locking, scan patterns, and radio silent missions.”
Haagenrud explained that Black Hornet 3 was released in 2017, “it took us close to eight years to produce Black Hornet 4 because we were developing the software capabilities of Black Hornet 3. This is a long-lasting product. We have the latest and greatest processor and thermal sensors” already in the current system. Hence, a Black Hornet 5 may be released only in “five to seven years, because of the [latest technology currently installed in] Black Hornet 4. The current system has the newest technology; we are not picking up 10-year-old technology.”
The company has delivered “more than 33,000 Black Hornet UAVs to military and security forces in over 45 countries,” including several NATO members and NATO-friendly states.
The list of Black Hornet users will likely grow in the near future as Teledyne FLIR has achieved a bureaucratic victory; namely the Black Hornet has been “down-selected” for the Blue UAS List. This is an important achievement as the List is a group of US Department of Defense-approved drones providing options for the evolving mission needs of government users. This distinction will allow future sales to other US defense agencies and armed services.
Zona Militar asked the company about sales of the nano drone to Latin American customers. The company noted that several Latin American armed forces have bought other Teledyne FLIR systems, including uncrewed ground vehicles by Ecuador. Uncrewed vehicles are becoming quite popular for Latin American armed forces. Some services are even developing or purchasing other uncrewed technologies; for example, the Brazilian Navy is developing uncrewed surface vessels for maritime operations, while the Argentine armed forces have bought the UVision Hero loitering munition system. Nano drones have not landed yet in the region. However, the situation could change in the future as Haagenrud believes Teledyne FLIR’s Black Hornet 4 “is a game-changing capability.”
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