Role & capabilities
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Teledyne FLIR Defense
- Origin / production countries
- Norway
- Other names
- Black Hornet 4 PRS
- Variants / configurations
- Black Hornet 4; Black Hornet 3 is a separate earlier baseline
- Operators / programme customers
- Germany — Bundeswehr
Evidence & current status
Aircraft mass excludes the complete personal reconnaissance system. Family-wide sales or operators are not automatically version-4 operators.
Black Hornet 4 is a miniature reconnaissance helicopter designed and built by Teledyne FLIR Defense in Norway. It provides a close-range imagery capability at a much smaller scale than fixed-wing tactical UAVs. Its single-main-rotor configuration also makes it physically different from the compact quadcopters often grouped under the same broad 'small drone' label.
The model was introduced in October 2023 as a successor to Black Hornet 3. The two should not share one specification row: the newer aircraft is heavier and has different sensors and endurance. The German military's June 2025 equipment profile documents Black Hornet 4 and provides an operator-level reference for its approximate mass, duration and range.
The manufacturer describes additional upgrades announced in May 2025. These do not mean that every earlier delivered system immediately received the same features. Family-wide delivery totals and references to Ukrainian Black Hornet use also cannot be assigned automatically to version 4. This profile focuses on the named version and keeps system-level equipment separate from the tiny aircraft's own mass.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Miniature single-main-rotor helicopter | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | Battery-electric | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | 190 mm main rotor diameter | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Mass | Approximately 70 g aircraft mass | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Approximately 30 minutes | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Range | 2 km in Bundeswehr profile | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Up to 36 km/h | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Colour camera and thermal camera | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Encrypted imagery/control connection | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
Upgrades announced
Teledyne FLIR introduced enhancements to version 4; installed configuration should be checked by batch.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Added a sourced global catalogue profile with configuration-specific data and explicit evidence limits.
Suggest a correction to this entry →
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- Bundeswehr Black Hornet 4 profile, 25 June 2025 (opens in a new tab)Government / military
- Manufacturer introduction, 10 October 2023 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- Upgrade announcement, 7 May 2025 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme