Throughout the war in Ukraine, the Biden administration’s position was and is to supply the Ukrainians with the weapons and tech they need when they need it. Right now, the U.S. thinks Ukraine needs swarms of Black Hornets.
Ukraine’s slow-moving counteroffensive is being hampered by miles of Russian minefields. Clearing the mines is painstakingly slow. Dealing with the explosives themselves is dangerous enough, let alone when Russian artillery is raining down on the crews trying to clear the mines.
In the early days of Ukraine’s recent counteroffensive, it lost a sizeable number of Western-supplied tanks and armored vehicles. Now, instead of using the armor to charge in, Ukraine’s military leaders changed tactics.
Using artillery as cover, armored vehicles insert small groups of soldiers into contested areas. Those soldiers then take on the arduous task of clearing Russian positions and trenches.
The fighting is chaotic and intense. Russian soldiers had months to prepare their defensive positions, making the task of clearing out the embedded enemy all the more difficult for Ukraine.
In these conditions, small personal reconnaissance systems like the Black Hornet Nano drones aren’t just game changing. They’re lifesaving.
The Black Hornet was specifically designed with foot soldiers in mind. It measures around four inches by one inch and weighs about an ounce. They can be individually deployed, or from a system mounted to vehicles. The Black Hornets can go deploy in under a minute and have a battery life around 25 minutes. The micro helicopter is almost silent when flying and will transmit video or still images to its operator from over a mile away.
The Black Hornet uses thermal imaging technology for day and nighttime operations. Instead of poking their heads out of a trench or around a corner, soldiers can let the Black Hornet assume the danger and spot the target.
The user receives the image on a handheld terminal which is linked to the drone on an encrypted, frequency-hopping signal.
The Hornet’s aren’t invincible, though. A wind gust over 20 knots or counter unmanned aerial system devices (CUAS) like electromagnetic rifles can disable the Hornets. Still, the ability to provide near instant situational awareness to dismounted soldiers can come in handy when squads are clearing hard-to-navigate areas like buildings, trenches and tree lines.
The Black Hornets are native to Norway, manufactured by Teledyne FLIR. The Norwegians and British already gave some Black Hornet Nanos to Ukraine, and with the recent aid package announced in late July, the U.S. will also ship some swarms overseas.
Reuters contributed to this report.
