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The UK and Norway have recently announced a major £55.4million military aid package to help Ukraine beat Vladimir Putin’s invading troops. The package was announced by outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his recent trip to Kyiv, and includes 850 “Black Hornet” micro-drones. This brings the UK’s military and financial support to Ukraine up to over £2.3billion since the start of the war on February 24.
Originally developed by a Norwegian company Prox Dynamics AS, the palm-sized Black Hornet micro-drones were first used by British soldiers in Afghanistan.
These tiny bots were used to identify hidden threats by scouting around corners or over walls during missions.
A British major spoke to the Daily Mail in 2013 about the Black Hornet and how they were helpful in Afghanistan.
The major said: “Previously we would have sent soldiers forward to see if there were any enemy fighters hiding inside a set of buildings.
“Now we are deploying Black Hornet to look inside compounds and to clear a route through enemy-held spaces.”
The Black Hornet system is designed so that it can be worn by soldiers on the screen, consisting of a screen, and a pouch containing two drones and a controller resembling a joystick.
The miniature drones can fly for up to 25 minutes over a 1.2 mile range with a top speed of 11 miles per hour.
While the entire equipment collectively weighs 1.3 kilograms, the drones themselves weigh 33 grams each.
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The rotors on the drones are near enough silent and can enter compounds without being spotted and with night vision and three cameras with high-definition video, are perfect to spy on Russian positions.
Each drone feeds back live video and still images to allow forces on the ground to defend urban areas safely, according to a statement from Mr Johnson’s office.
These devices can capture still pictures of 1,600 x 1,200 pixels and are equipped with basic thermal imagery, enabling troops to identify enemy positions at night.
One benefit of these drones is that they do not contain any digital storage, eliminating the risk of exposure if the drone falls into enemy hands.
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Welcome to Kyiv again, dear @BorisJohnson ! New British package of GBP 54 mln including 850 microdrones will significantly help #UAarmy ! We. Shall. Never. Surrender. pic.twitter.com/gyMt0wH6gm
The military tech costing £10,000 per drone takes about 25 minutes to recharge and flies on autopilot using GPS.
According to a researcher at the German Aerospace Centre, the drones are “the very best on the market” and their use in Ukraine will be “game-changing”.
Norway’s defence minister Bjørn Arild Gram spoke about the Norwegian-developed drones, saying: “The drone is used for reconnaissance and target identification.
“It is easy to operate, robust, difficult to detect and particularly well suited for combat in urban areas.”
He added: “The donation entails a new direction for how Western countries support their fight.
“Until now we and our allies have mostly donated from our own stocks.”
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