The defense unit of California tech company Teledyne FLIR has followed up on the $48 million contract it signed last year with Norway by finalizing a new deal to provide the nation’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) with a veritable fleet of Black Hornet nano drones destined for Ukraine’s defense efforts.
Teledyne FLIR Defense said it had concluded the accord with Norway’s MoD to deliver 1,000 of its tiny reconnaissance and surveillance Black Hornet drones for ultimate deployment in Ukraine. Last year’s contract with the Nordic nation – which made it the largest user of the nano UAVs – included 300 mini-vehicles Oslo sent to Kyiv in a support operation with the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine.
Read more: Teledyne Flir signs $48 million Black Hornet drone deal with Norway
The new contract more than triples the number of Black Hornet drones earmarked for use by Ukraine forces – a reflection of how valuable Teledyne FLIR’s finger-sized, highly maneuverable craft have become in furtively gathering intelligence on Russian troop positions and movements.
The amount of the transaction was not revealed, but with each of the UAV systems costing a reported $195,000, the nominal face value would near the $100 million mark.
Ukraine’s reliance on a wide variety of drones has made both military aircraft like the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 and adapted consumer vehicles like DJI’s Mavic 3 critical to the nation’s defenses. But with steadily improving Russian anti-UAV defenses reportedly costing Kyiv 10,000 units per month, the performance and evasive longevity of super-small, stealthy assets like Teledyne’s Black Hornets have made them increasingly vital covert intelligence tools.
Though a tad too large to impersonate as a Cracker Jack toy, the drone weighs a mere 33 grams (under 0.1 pounds), measures 168 millimeters (less than seven inches), and flies up to 10 meters/second for up to 25 minutes. It packs three different sensors in its nose, transmitting real-time visual and thermal video in either piloted or pre-programmed flight.
Their size and tech allow the UAVs to quietly sneak into places – and through obstacles – that larger vehicles can’t, and act like far more expensive military-developed insect-scale drones.
Teledyne FLIR Defense provides Black Hornets to armies of the US, UK, France, Australia, Germany, Turkey, India, and the Netherlands, and will now up its drone count to both Norway and Ukraine.
Read: Exclusive: Insiders describe Ukraine operation preparing drone strikes inside Russia
All told, the company has dispatched over 14,000 of the nano UAVs to military and security forces in over 40 countries, and now joins Oslo in expanding Ukraine’s fleet as Kyiv pursues its summer counter-offensive.
“We are honored and proud to support Norway’s efforts to assist forces in Ukraine,” said JihFen Lei, executive vice president and general manager of Teledyne FLIR Defense. “The Black Hornet has proven to be game-changing technology that can help soldiers perform missions more safely and effectively.”
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