What do we know about the black hornet micro-drones donated to Ukraine by the UK and Norway

Norway and the UK will provide Kyiv with

850 Norwegian Black hornet micro-drones, the smallest in the world, as part of a new £ 54 million aid package to support the Ukrainian military effort against Russian invasion troops. Silent and difficult to identify, they are designed to carry out reconnaissance and target identification operations, even at very close distances, particularly in urban areas.

10 centimeters long and just 2.5 wide, they weigh just 18 grams and have a range of about 1,600 meters, with an autonomy of 25 minutes. The piloting takes place via a remote monitor with a camera installed on board and with the possibility of scheduled flight towards a target. The aircraft has a GPS positioning system, speed sensor, accelerometer, pressure sensors and a photodetector for video and photos. The complete equipment supplied to a single soldier weighs less than a kilo and consists of two mini helicopters, connected to the charging device, and the flight device. The recharging time to reach 90% of the battery is equal to the flight range of the drone, about 25 minutes. In this way one of the two devices is always ready while the other is recharged. In case of problems or insufficient battery, the aircraft returns to base autonomously. They are real spy drones, so small and silent that they are able to enter a building from open doors or windows without being detected, while the three high-definition cameras on the front allow the pilot to clearly observe the environment.

sur-r o u n d ing.

Furthermore, the images and data collected are stored directly in the memory on the ground, so in case of capture they cannot be used to identify the base or the journey made.