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It
fits easily into the palm of your hand and looks to the world like a child’s
toy helicopter.
But
this tiny, remote-controlled aircraft is, in fact, British forces’ latest
weapon against the Taliban.
Codenamed
Black Hornet, the eight-inch long plastic moulded drone has three cameras
hidden inside its nose, yet weighs just 15 grams, or just over half an ounce.
Black
Hornet, which has a smooth grey body and twin black rotors, stays airborne
thanks to a small rechargeable battery.
Like
a child’s toy helicopter: The tiny, remote-controlled aircraft codenamed Black
Hornet is, in fact, British forces’ latest weapon against the Taliban
Soldiers
can either pilot it directly or program it to fly to a given set of
co-ordinates on the battlefield using GPS, then return to base after spying on
enemy positions.
The
Mail on Sunday was last week given an exclusive demonstration of Black Hornet
in Camp Bastion by soldiers from the Brigade Reconnaissance Force (BRF).
The
‘recce’ soldiers, who operate the tiny drone from a safe distance, and their commander, Major
Adam Foden, explained how they had used Black Hornet with great success on
recent missions into Taliban territory.
Small
wonder: Staff Sergeant Kevin Hough, attached to the Brigade Reconnaissance
Force in Helmand, demonstrates the ‘nanocopter’
Major
Foden, 34, said: ‘Black Hornet is a game-changing piece of kit. Previously we
would have sent soldiers forward to see if there were any enemy fighters hiding
inside a set of buildings.
‘Now
we are deploying Black Hornet to look inside compounds and to clear a route
through enemy-held spaces.
‘It
has worked very well and the pictures it
delivers back to the monitor are really
clear. And Black Hornet is so small and
quiet that the locals can’t see or hear
it.’
On
most operations the Black Hornet ‘nanocopter’ is controlled by a soldier using
a computer game-style joystick. As the
drone hovers near an enemy position, pictures are beamed back to a
monitoring station. It delivers high-resolution still and moving images.
Pressing
a button, a soldier can zoom silently on to a target and the hum from Black
Hornet’s rotors is scarcely audible even from a distance of a few yards.
When
Black Hornet is flown inside Taliban compounds it can barely be heard and is
difficult to see against the grey mud walls of village compounds.
Enemy
fighters, hiding among civilian populations in villages, would be unaware that
the drone was watching them.
One
BRF soldier said: ‘It’s a cool piece of kit. The pictures are amazingly clear
and we can see who is a local civilian and who is a Taliban fighter and whether
any weapons are being stored there. We can then make our plans accordingly. It
saves a lot of time and a lot of
mistakes. It can zoom right up to somebody’s face and hold that frame for as
long as is required without them even knowing it’s there. It makes it possible
to identify a high-value target.’
SPECIFICATIONS
LENGTH:
8 inches
WEIGHT:
0.5 ounce
SPEED:
22mph
MAXIMUM
FLIGHT: 30 minutes
While
Black Hornet is a priceless tool in Afghanistan, it is unlikely it could be used on Britain’s streets because of civil liberty
concerns.
Before
soldiers are allowed to use Black Hornet they are required to go on a training
course which teaches them not just the drone’s capabilities but also how it
should be deployed.
The
whole package, the helicopter, monitor and stick, fit into a pocket-sized case.
The
Black Hornet – properly called a Proxdynamics PD-100 Personal Reconnaissance
System – is a joint UK-Norwegian venture and was passed fit for service in
Afghanistan after extensive field trials in Cyprus last year.
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