Role & capabilities
- Reconnaissance
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Teledyne FLIR / Prox Dynamics lineage
- Origin / production countries
- Norway
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- Black Hornet 3 / PRS; earlier PD-100 and Black Hornet 4 distinct
- Operators / programme customers
- Not identified in reviewed sources
Evidence & current status
Supplier information is attributed; performance and operational acceptance require configuration-specific evidence.
Black Hornet 3 is the third-generation nano helicopter in the Norwegian-origin Black Hornet family. The manufacturer’s PRS specification sheet describes the aircraft together with its personal reconnaissance system. Aircraft mass is therefore kept separate from the weight of the complete operator equipment.
The sheet provides a small-aircraft baseline and day/thermal observation capability. Its figures should not be assigned to the earlier sixteen-gram aircraft or to Black Hornet 4. Similar naming across generations conceals meaningful changes to the air vehicle, sensors and supporting equipment.
This profile records the manufacturer configuration rather than an exhaustive customer inventory. A named country’s purchase of a Black Hornet system does not identify the delivered generation unless the contract or operator source says so. Maximum flight time and link reach are also conditional on environment and mission. The separate record supports accurate comparisons while leaving customer-specific quantities and upgrades to their own dated evidence.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Nano helicopter | Black Hornet 3 aircraft. Source |
| Launch / recovery | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source |
| Propulsion | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source |
| Dimensions | 168 mm length; 123 mm rotor diameter | Manufacturer sheet. Source |
| Mass | Less than 33 g | Air vehicle, not complete PRS. Source |
| Endurance | Up to 25 minutes | Supplier maximum. Source |
| Range | Up to 2 km communications reach | Link range, not total flight distance. Source |
| Speed | Up to 6 m/s | Supplier ground-speed value. Source |
| Altitude | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source |
| Payload | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source |
| Sensors | Daylight and thermal imaging | Third-generation payload. Source |
| Communications / navigation | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source |
Publication history
- — Published reference update.
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Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.