Army experimenting with small, bug-like drones.

CPT Ahmed Faried — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 10:40:59 -0400

Combat-ready drones the size of bees are being manufactured and experimented with by the U.S. Army Special Forces.

These 18-gram drones - the smallest ever used in combat - would be used to survey areas before a Special Forces team arrives, according to DefenseOne.

The tiny drones are known as PD-100 Black Hornets and are produced by Norwegian manufacturer Prox Dynamics. They hold both a regular and thermal camera, are silent during flights and blend in well with darkness, making them the best option for aerial shots of enemy campgrounds.

The Black Hornet was specially designed for Afghanistan, according to Prox Dynamics CEO and President Arne Skjaerpe. The British Brigade Reconnaissance Force has used them successfully for the past few years.

After being launched from a holster, the drone can stay in flight for 25 minutes. It transmits information back to the box. No information is stored on the drone itself, making it untraceable if found by the enemy.

Each drone costs $40,0000.

After Fort Benning soldiers experimented with 75 prototypes and consistently held the Black Hornet in high regard, the U.S. Special Operations confirmed they considering the device but will continue researching before any final decisions are made.
-By Military 1

My issue is the price tag. Anyone see that $40,000 sticker price?

Response by CPT Ahmed Faried made Jun 3 at 2015 10:41 AM

CPT Ahmed Faried — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 10:41:56 -0400

Btw these have already seen use in theater as seen by the pictures.

Response by 1LT Nick Kidwell made Jun 3 at 2015 10:42 AM

1LT Nick Kidwell — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 10:42:19 -0400

You could do the same job for far less money.

Response by MSgt Michael Durkee made Jun 3 at 2015 10:43 AM

MSgt Michael Durkee — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 10:43:42 -0400

The price is pretty insane and I can only imagine they will be scrapped once they're no longer serviceable - I can't see them being repairable.

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Jun 3 at 2015 11:13 AM

SCPO David Lockwood — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 11:13:59 -0400

If they work why not? You now they are probably a couple hundred dollars cheaper than the big drones.

Response by Capt Mark Strobl made Jun 3 at 2015 11:25 AM

Capt Mark Strobl — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 11:25:18 -0400

Seems like a nice force-multiplier ...as long as the wind isn't blowing.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 3 at 2015 11:50 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 11:50:12 -0400

The Technology is amazing. If this can help us save lives of our Military Personnel, I am for it. Privacy issues in states will be an issue as a result!

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Jun 3 at 2015 11:50 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 11:50:42 -0400

for $40k, I'll sell them 400x of the $100 versions, and if you break them no big deal...

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 3 at 2015 11:58 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 11:58:04 -0400

I think that the military is overcharged for much of this technology. The smartphones we hold in our hand is over a thousands times more powerful than early mainframes that coat over a million dollars. To make modification for military specification I could see would cost a bit more but not from 400 to 40,000 dollars.

Response by SPC Donald Moore made Jun 3 at 2015 12:17 PM

SPC Donald Moore — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 12:17:25 -0400

I can just imagine, you loose it because it falls out of your pouch during a movement to contact and next, Statement of Charges. No. I wouldn't want to be involved with it. That is something for officers to keep.

Response by SPC Charles Brown made Jun 3 at 2015 12:44 PM

SPC Charles Brown — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 12:44:16 -0400

Leave it to the government to want to spend more money on something that isn't worth the cost. My neighbor has a RC helicopter that has video capability to record or send to connected computer.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Jun 3 at 2015 3:33 PM

SSG (ret) William Martin — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 15:33:16 -0400

I better get a mini tough box for that. It's sort of cute also.

Response by SGT James Elphick made Jun 3 at 2015 3:54 PM

SGT James Elphick — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 15:54:21 -0400

PROS: Being able to get a real-time birds-eye view of the battlefield without the enemy knowing it and having it in the hands of the ground commander on the scene is invaluable. Imagine assaulting a position and knowing where every enemy fighter is hiding and/or moving to and it's difficult to detect and easy to deploy.

CONS: That thing is tiny and expensive. It looks like a strong gust of wind could easily blow it way off course, or away even and then it is "Hands across America" looking for that thing. That would also happen if it was accidentally flown out of range. Hopefully it wouldn't contain important data though.

Response by SFC Michael Jackson, MBA made Jun 3 at 2015 3:56 PM

SFC Michael Jackson, MBA — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 15:56:29 -0400

I'm a fan of technology and supportive of the Intel community. However, I think this is a $40,000 rip off. Like Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS mentioned, there's a reasonable concern that these would be broke or lost. In my mind, a ruggedized version should be no more than $4,000.
A new smart-phone cost with latest technology about a $1000 with Video, GPS, BT, etc. To make it flying capable and , I'll double the costs. Add another $2000 to make it MILSPEC or ruggedized and it's still valued under $5000

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jun 3 at 2015 5:07 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 17:07:56 -0400

I want one but a little out of my Price Range.

Response by SPC David Hannaman made Jun 3 at 2015 5:10 PM

SPC David Hannaman — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 17:10:23 -0400

I'm that this is another case of "the appropriations committee doesn't understand the concept of 'economy of scale'.."

Lets say I'm accustomed to making $80K a year. If I take a year off to develop and build some gizmo Uncle Sam and he agrees to buy 160 of them then I can sell them for $500 each, and hope I get a bigger order next year. However, if Uncle Sam reduces that order to 20 then I have to raise the price to $4000 each to break even and put food in my kids mouth.

Response by Maj Marty Hogan made Aug 2 at 2018 10:28 AM

Maj Marty Hogan — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 10:28:23 -0400

CPT Ahmed Faried can you pm me the link for this story? Working an ISR question and what the future holds. This could be of assistance. Thanks.

Response by SFC William Stephens made Aug 2 at 2018 1:33 PM

SFC William Stephens — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 13:33:00 -0400

Kill the BAD guys that's how they are going to take off the face of planet, sending virus with small drones like bugs. Just like Iraq did with the little orange fruit flies in Iraq desert.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 28 at 2018 7:40 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 19:40:44 -0400

I don't see $40k, no. But I like the idea of small and relatively simple.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 30 at 2018 12:50 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 12:50:44 -0400

One EMP and it's all over.