DEPLOYDatabase

Robot model

Black Hornet

Teledyne FLIR's Black Hornet is a pocket-sized nano-UAV reconnaissance system for personal soldier ISR, carrying three cameras (forward, down, and 45-degree…

Track Black Hornet
Manufacturer
Teledyne FLIR
Form factor
aerial
Maturity
research
Lifecycle
active

The verified answer

As of Aug 2026, DEPLOY verifies Black Hornet, a aerial by Teledyne FLIR (research). 1 source back the record.

Appears inMilitary & defense drones

Overview

Teledyne FLIR's Black Hornet is a pocket-sized nano-UAV reconnaissance system for personal soldier ISR, carrying three cameras (forward, down, and 45-degree down); selected by the US Army (CP-ISR / Soldier Borne Sensor) and used by militaries worldwide.

Verified vs. claimed

Maturity stage
research(Lab-stage only; no commercial or public deployment reported.)
Sources on file
View all sources →

No verified deployments on file. DEPLOY tracks independently-sourced deployment evidence separately from manufacturer capability claims.

Key facts

Form factor

aerial

Maker

Teledyne FLIR

Cameras

3

Class

nano-UAV ISR system

Program

US Army Soldier Borne Sensor

Specs

Class

nano-UAV ISR system

Cameras

3

Program

US Army Soldier Borne Sensor

Data & sources

Web sources

1

1 source backing this record.View all →

Availability and pricing

Availability
Not disclosed
Price
$195K (analyst estimate)as of 2025-01-01
Units in field
Not disclosed
Sales model
Not disclosed
Lead time
Not disclosed

Pricing

One-time purchase

$195,000 USDanalyst estimateas of 2025-01-01

Source: Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet Nano (Wikipedia)

Price status: actual-sale-price = real published price at time of sale; manufacturer-target = vendor target, not yet realized; analyst-estimate = third-party projection, not a vendor figure; not-announced = no price on record.

Prices verified as of Jan 1, 2025

Recent activity

Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.

Full change history →

Safety record

No incidents on record for Black Hornet.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Sources (1)

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teledyne_FLIR_Black_Hornet_Nano

Common questions

What is Black Hornet?
Teledyne FLIR's Black Hornet is a pocket-sized nano-UAV reconnaissance system for personal soldier ISR, carrying three cameras (forward, down, and 45-degree down); selected by the US Army (CP-ISR / Soldier Borne Sensor) and used by militaries worldwide.
How much does Black Hornet cost?
Black Hornet is listed at $195,000 on the DEPLOY registry. This is an analyst estimate, not an official price.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teledyne_FLIR_Black_Hornet_Nano
Is Black Hornet actually deployed in the real world?
Black Hornet is at the research stage: it exists, but DEPLOY has no verified real-world deployment on record. Manufacturer capability claims should be read as claims pending independent verification.
Who makes Black Hornet?
Black Hornet is made by Teledyne FLIR, based in Wilsonville, Oregon, USA, founded in 1978.
Can you buy Black Hornet?
Black Hornet is at research stage and is not yet available for sale.
What are alternatives to Black Hornet?
On the DEPLOY registry, comparable aerial robots to Black Hornet include Skydio X10, Zipline Platform 2 (P2), MQ-9 Reaper, Wing Delivery Aircraft.
How does Black Hornet compare to Skydio X10?
Black Hornet and Skydio X10 (Skydio · 20 deployments) are both aerial robots on the DEPLOY registry. Black Hornet has 0 verified deployments on record. Compare both records for specs, safety, deployments, and verified-vs-claimed autonomy.
Is Black Hornet a top aerial?
On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, safety, adoption, media, and IP signals, Black Hornet ranks in roughly the top 9% of aerial models tracked by the registry.
What is Black Hornet's maturity stage?
Black Hornet is at the research stage on the DEPLOY maturity ladder (research, prototype, pilot, commercial, production). Research stage means active development without commercial deployments on file.
Where is Black Hornet deployed?
No verified deployments of Black Hornet are currently on the DEPLOY registry. DEPLOY records deployments only when verified at a named site with a primary source; absence may reflect pre-deployment, research, or manufacturer-internal use.
Is Black Hornet safe?
Black Hornet has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-12

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-12

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: research

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: aerial

Sources by quality tier

1
knowledge-base
Knowledge base

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Black Hornet.

Recent coverage

Black Hornet in third-party press

Teledyne FLIR’s new throwable robot shares controls with nano-drone - The Defence Blog

May 26, 2026

US firm launches 16-foot drop-surviving ground robot for combat ops - Interesting Engineering

May 21, 2026

Teledyne Debuts Recon Robot Designed to Be Thrown - Design and Development Today

May 19, 2026