Norway to transfer Black Hornet micro-drones to Ukraine

12 July, 2023 Black Hornet drone. Photo from open sources The Norwegian government has agreed to transfer 1,000 new Black Hornet micro-drones to Ukraine.

The news was published on Norway's government website. The government's press service reported that the Ukrainian authorities requested to provide this type of equipment to use in the fight against the Russian invasion. "Ukraine is very satisfied with previous Norwegian deliveries of this type of reconnaissance drones, which were developed in cooperation between the Norwegian Defense Forces and the Defense Research Institute.

The Black Hornet drone is manufactured in Norway, and we are now providing Ukraine with 1,000 new drone kits," said Bjorn Arild Gram, the country's Defense Minister. Previously, the UK and Norway jointly handed over a batch of micro-drones valued at £9.1 million, financed from the British fund for military aid to Ukraine. Last year, Militarnyi published an article sharing feedback from the Ukrainian military about the transferred micro-drones.

According to the military, the kits of such an unmanned system included two replaceable optical modules: one with a daytime camera, and one with a thermal imaging camera.

Black Hornet drone in the Ukrainian military.

2022. Photo credits: Kruk

A small helicopter-type drone weighs only 18 grams and can work without recharging for 25 minutes. Having a main screw diameter of 120 mm, the drone develops a speed of over 20 km/h.

Its flight range is about 2 km. This UAV is easy to operate, strong enough, and difficult to detect. Therefore, this equipment is well suited for combat in urban conditions.

The kit consists of two drones, a charger, and a control tablet. Its total weight is approximately 1.3 kg. The Black Hornet micro-drones have an advantage over drones common in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, such as the DJI Mavic 3, when it comes to working in hard-to-reach places, as they can conduct reconnaissance even indoors.

This should preserve the assault groups' personnel and accelerate the work during the liberation of buildings and industrial zones.