Nano-Drones Secured for US Army in $94M Teledyne Contract

The U.S. Army has awarded a $93.9 million contract to Teledyne FLIR Defense for its small-scale surveillance and reconnaissance drone, the Black Hornet.

The five-year contract stipulates the delivery of the nano drones, corresponding controllers, spare parts and training.

The Army has been purchasing Black Hornet drones since 2018 as part of its Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) program, a project established to try and mitigate the loss of life through the use of drones for dangerous tasks. 

Teledyne’s pocket-size drone weighs just 1.16 ounces and can be used for small-scale, covert surveillance and reconnaissance missions, transmitting live video or HD images to operators.

The drones are currently being used by Ukrainian soldiers in the face of Russia’s ongoing invasion, purchased with help from donations made by the British and Norwegian governments. 

"The Black Hornet 3 gives warfighters up-to-the-minute situational understanding before and while they conduct missions," said JihFen Lei, FLIR Defense’s general manager. "We are proud to provide this unique capability to our soldiers and honored by the U.S. Army’s long-term commitment through the new IDIQ, building on its previous orders under the SBS program.

"FLIR Defense will continue to invest in developing unmanned platforms and smart sensors that are proving their worthiness in operational theaters worldwide. These technologies are reshaping the modern battlefield."

This is not the first collaboration between Teledyne and the U.S. Army. In May of 2022r, Teledyne won a five-year contract from the nation’s military worth up to $500 million for the provision of advanced thermal imaging systems for the U.S. Army's Family of Weapons Sights-Individual (FWS-I) program.