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Teledyne FLIR

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UAV / drone Norway flagNorway

Teledyne FLIR

Black Hornet 4

Palm-sized, 70-gram personal reconnaissance nano-UAV originally developed by Norway's Prox Dynamics and now built by Teledyne FLIR, hand-launched for GPS-denied dismounted-squad ISR and fielded by 40+ armed forces including the US, UK, Norway and Ukraine.

40 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗

Data confidence Last verified 2026-08-22 ·
Stub · 11%

36

km/h

3

km range

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

National export licensing

Subject to Norway export-control approval; verify eligibility with the manufacturer.

Channel: Direct commercial / G2G

Fielded & proven

Widely fielded · 40 operators

Status: active.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from. Why so few systems publish one →

Interoperability

No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.

Competitive field

74 comparable systems from 36 other manufacturers

Counted in the WeaponSpecs database: UAVs built by another manufacturer that share at least one published role with this system. A count of what this catalog holds, not a survey of the whole market. See the alternatives →

Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Overview

The Black Hornet Nano is a palm-sized rotary-wing nano unmanned aerial vehicle originally developed by Prox Dynamics AS of Norway, which was acquired by FLIR Systems (now Teledyne FLIR) in 2016. The latest production model, Black Hornet 4, weighs approximately 70 grams, is hand-launched, and is designed to operate both indoors and outdoors, with or without GPS, in electronically contested environments and winds up to 25 knots. It carries a combined 640x512 thermal imager and a 12-megapixel electro-optical camera for day/night close-range reconnaissance, and includes a 'Zipline Mode' that lets the aircraft fly a fixed path while the operator independently pans the onboard camera to scan corners and urban terrain. As the world's most widely fielded personal reconnaissance micro-drone, it gives individual soldiers or small teams organic over-the-hill and around-the-corner situational awareness without depending on a larger ISR asset, and has seen extensive combat use, including by Ukrainian forces.

Full specifications

Performance

Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.

Performance specifications
Max speed

Maximum level speed. For aircraft this is at optimal altitude; for ground vehicles, top road speed. Higher means faster response and better kinematic performance.

36 km/h
Bottom 1% of UAVs
Range

Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence.

3 km
Bottom 1% of UAVs
Endurance

Time on station. Critical for UAVs and patrol platforms, higher means longer persistent coverage. On a ground robot, published continuous run time on a full charge or fuel tank.

0.5 h
Bottom 7% of UAVs

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Physical specifications
Combat weight

Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.

0 kg
Crew

Personnel required to operate. Fewer reduces exposure; autoloaders trade a loader for mechanical complexity.

0

Sensors & avionics

Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.

Sensors & avionics specifications
Sensors

IRST, EO/IR turrets, laser designators, sniper pods, thermal sights.

640x512 thermal imager, 12MP electro-optical camera
Thermal imaging

Thermal sights for night and obscured-visibility operations.

Yes

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Program specifications
Operator countries

Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.

40
Top 1% of UAVs

Specifications compiled from public Teledyne FLIR and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-08-22.

Compare with rivals

See how it stacks up

Frequently asked questions

What is the top speed of the Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 4? +

The Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 4 has a maximum speed of 36 km/h.

What is the range of the Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 4? +

The Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 4 has a maximum range of 3 km.

How much does the Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 4 weigh? +

The Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 4 has a combat weight of 0 kg.

How many crew does the Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 4 require? +

The Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 4 requires a crew of 0.

What is the Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 4 used for? +

The Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 4 is a uav / drone typically used for isr, reconnaissance, urban operations.

How many countries operate the Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 4? +

The Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet 4 is operated by 40 countries.

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