Teledyne FLIR Defense, a division of Teledyne Technologies, has received a $17.5 million contract from Armasuisse, the Swiss Federal Office of Defense Procurement, to deliver Black Hornet 4 Personal Reconnaissance Systems, advanced nano-drones.
The Black Hornet was selected as an airborne dismountable intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability sensor for the Piranha 8x8 Armored engineering vehicle program.
The nano-drone's software will be modified to integrate with the Piranha’s digital infrastructure. Under the setup, the drone’s live video stream will be shared on vehicle displays and provide target data, coordinates, and other situational awareness to vehicle commanders and crew.
Drone operators will be able to connect the Black Hornet control tablet to the vehicle's integrated combat solution (ICS), designed by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, for dismounted or mobile operations.
After launching the UAV by hand out of the vehicle, operators can fly the drone on intelligence gathering missions while all data is simultaneously shared with the crew. Among its features, the Black Hornet can both receive waypoints from the ICS for further reconnaissance as well as generate target points that can be fed to the vehicle’s remote weapon station. The solution is fully detachable during operations, so operators can dismount from the vehicle and reattach while the drone is flying.
Dr. JihFen Lei, president of Teledyne FLIR Defense and senior vice president of Teledyne Technologies, said the Armasuisse program "shows the market potential for UAS integration on armored vehicles globally and the promise of ‘drone-in-a-box’ systems."
The Black Hornet 4 can provide day/night covert situational awareness to small fighting units. Its 12-megapixel daytime camera and high-resolution thermal imager deliver video and still images to the operator. At just 70 grams, the drone can survive GPS-denied and contested environments, fly for more than 30 minutes, over three kilometers (~1.86 miles), and function in 25-knot winds and rain. Flight performance is augmented by advanced obstacle avoidance capabilities and other features.
The vehicle-integrated Black Hornet 4’s were delivered in 2025. The remaining systems will be delivered during 2026.
Teledyne FLIR has delivered more than 35,000 Black Hornet drones to military and security forces in over 45 countries, according to the company.
