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Future Warfare: The PD-100 Black Hornet, a drone that could fit in a pocket

By Salehuddin Bin Husin - on 26 Nov 2014, 10:28am

Future Warfare: The PD-100 Black Hornet, a drone that could fit in a pocket

 Prox Dynamics' PD-100 Black Hornet drone only weighs 16 grams.

Ever since the beginning of warfare,  aerial surveillance has been one of the key factors in determining battles. World War II had the zeppelins, the first Gulf War used satellites and now, armies the world over are starting to use drones. It's been a staple in many video games that feature futuristic military settings such as Splinter Cell: Blacklist, the Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter games and of course, the recent Battlefield and Call of Duty games.

We've made mention of the proposed emergency service drone that could be used to save lives. This next one has a more aggressive use in mind. While drones aren't exactly new to being used in military operations, the PD-100 Black Hornet is one of the first drones that aim to put recon capabilities in the hands of the troops on the ground themselves instead of drone operators back at base.

With an estimated operational time of about 30 mins, the PD-100 can be used by squads or individual soldiers to scout out locations and then receive the video feed in real time. The PD-100 isn't meant for long distance recon (that duty will still be up to its bigger cousins), instead the PD-100 is to be used to scout out the immediate area that the squad or soldier is operating in. The quiet motor and small size combine to make the PD-100 almost undetectable if used sensibly. 

The PD-100 Black Hornet already exists, with prototype models currently being worked on to iron out the kinks. Still, there are further additions to be made before the drone will be deployed alongside America's forces. For one, the video feed needs to be made more secure to prevent the opposition from simply hacking in. Then there's the planned integration of low light vision capabilities and the tweaking needed to make sure the drone performs up to snuff in close quarters and tight environments.

The US Army didn't say when the drones would be operationally ready (we doubt they'd say even if they are ready) but judging from the prototype, it doesn't seem unreasonable to expect them to be used soon.

Source: Foxtrot Alpha

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