"Black Hornet" - Eye in the Sky

A surveillance micro drone, easily started from the palm of a soldier’s hand, can fly horizontally and take a look from above on a suspicious area or hover next to a building and look through a window, giving soldiers on foot patrols an advantage of seeing what’s there from a safe distance - all this is the Black Hornet.

When U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan needed to see whether danger lurked over the next hill or in the next city block, they often relied on small, hand-launched, fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles, such as the Army’s Raven and the Marine Corps’ Dragon Eye. Perhaps no technology is more important today for soldiers on a foot patrol than flying robotic micro drones equipped with cameras, which can be used to get a bird’s eye view over a certain object.

• Instant situational awareness within two minutes of activation;
• Organic and extremely light weight;
• Capable of covert target surveillance and route reconnaissance;
• Easy to operate;
• No assembly required.

With this very small micro drone (copter), named PD-100 "Black Hornet" PRS (Personal Reconnaissance System), a patrol infantry team or Special Forces soldiers can quietly conduct surveillance tasks in urban areas or in areas with dense obstacles, thus providing security and seeing hidden enemies or positions. What the PD-100 Black Hornet PRS brings to the team is the ability to get a close look at dangerous situations as they unfold. A major tactical advantage of the micro drone is that it is very easy to carry, because it is attached to the combat carrying harness, and that it starts from the palm of the hand, which enables it to be launched from confined areas. The PD-100 "Black Hornet" PRS has maintained its combat proven credentials with a variety of international military forces since 2012. Designed to operate by the soldiers in the field, it is simple to operate. The PD-100 PRS is a force multiplier (makes a given force more effective than that same force would be without it) that provides the war fighter on foot with immediate eyes-on-target and real-time situational awareness. Inherently safe and truly organic, the PD-100 PRS has introduced an unique game-changing dimension to small team covert reconnaissance tasks.

The PD-100 is designed as a short range ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) system for lower-echelon combat units. The complete system is easily carried by a single soldier in a pouch attached to the load bearing system along with the rest of his combat gear, providing the unit with a quick reaction reconnaissance and surveillance capability. It is easy to use and requires only a few hours of training.

The UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) are fully assembled and ready to fly after a short initialisation period. The system may be operated in standby mode for prolonged periods of time. Pre-planning waypoints and reference points are possible, but not required for flight operation. Guidance is provided through the GUI (Graphical User Interface).

Live video and still images are down linked on the digital data link to the operator and stored automatically on the base station. After completing the mission, the UAV is placed back inside the base station for system checks and recharging. When the team is about to enter a suspicious area, for example, the drone is sent out to take a closer look at the area in question with its "bird’s eye”.

Dual Usability

The PD-100 Personal Reconnaissance System provides law enforcement agencies with a pocket-sized ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) capability that provides instant situational awareness. The PRS provides Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) with an unique piece of equipment for use in both urban and rural settings under any climatic conditions.

The personal pocket-sized ISR capability allows the operator to get situational awareness and reconnoitre points of interest from a safe distance. Hence, the PD-100 PRS can be used as an effective tool to enhance force protection for the operator’s own organisation and for civilians.

The world’s smallest operational military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with a night capability was unveiled by Prox Dynamics during the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) in Washington DC October 2014. The night version of Black Hornet is called PD-100 T. This Block II variant has its original three cameras replaced by two cameras, one of which is a thermal sensor, provided by FLIR Systems, the world’s largest manufacturer of IR equipment (infrared). Prox Dynamics and FLIR have cooperated closely over the past years.

The flight time of the production version is indicated as 25 minutes. In summer 2014 Prox Dynamics was out in the field three times, testing the designed PD-100 Block II. All of these three flying tests lasted between 55 and 57 minutes-very long for an electric helicopter.

It is important to emphasise that this was a lab test with a PD-100, which was optimised in all respects, encompassing the engine, the rotor and the battery. But it gave obviously an indication of the capabilities of the PD-100 Block II.