British soldiers outfitted with handheld drones - with video
Sergeant Scott Weaver, of The Queens Royal Lancers, is seen launching a Black Hornet Nano Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV), from a compound in Afghanistan.
Image by: HANDOUT / REUTERS
Image by: HANDOUT / REUTERS
Britain's military says its soldiers in Afghanistan have been issued with surveillance drones so small they can fit in the palm of your hand.
The Scandinavian-designed Black Hornet Nano weighs
as little as 16 grams - the same as a finch. 10-centimetre-long
helicopter is fitted with a tiny camera which relays still images
and video to a remote terminal.
The military quoted Sgt. Christopher Petherbridge, with Britain's Brigade Reconnaissance Force, as saying troops used the drone "to look for insurgent firing points and check out exposed areas of the ground before crossing."
The ministry said Sunday that the Black Hornet was developed by Norway's Prox Dynamics AS as part of a 20 million pound ($30 million) contract for 160 units with southern England's Marlborough Communications Ltd.
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