Teledyne FLIR Defense, part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY), has won a five-year contract worth up to $91 million to provide its Black Hornet® 4 Personal Reconnaissance Systems to the United States Army.
The advanced nano-unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are being acquired under the Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) program, Phase II.
Teledyne FLIR has received $25 million in initial orders that will cover delivery of the first tranche of Black Hornet 4 drones, as well as controllers, spare parts, and training.
The U.S. Army began acquiring Black Hornet 3 systems for the original SBS program in 2018. Since then, they have placed orders totaling more than $215 million for the multi-faceted drone. Soldiers are using the UAVs to augment squad and small unit surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
“The Black Hornet 4 stands out as the world’s most capable nano-UAS for the world’s most high-risk missions.
We are honored the Army continues to place its trust in us as drone-of-choice provider for Soldier Borne Sensor, and we’re proud to see our technology making a real difference for warfighters on the battlefield.”
Dr. JihFen Lei, president of Teledyne FLIR Defense
Black Hornet systems are currently being used by more than 40 countries to provide a quick response when soldiers need to collect vital information about the areas they are operating in and moving into.
The award-winning Black Hornet 4 is designed and built by Teledyne FLIR Defense in Norway. Deliveries of the latest SBS Phase II orders began in September.
Source: Teledyne FLIR news release