Black Hornet 4 micro drone packs heavy recon duty into a tiny package
In the future these drones will be tinier, better, and much more capable.
Key takeaways
- Teledyne’s Black Hornet 4 Nano-Drone has won the US Department of Defense Blue UAS Refresh award, the has company announced.
- Weighing in at only about 70 grams (2.5 oz) and with a rotor diameter of 190 mm (7.5 in), the Black Hornet 4 can be assembled and launched from its carrying case in under 20 seconds.
- At the business end, the Black Hornet 4 has what is claimed to be the world's smallest thermal camera.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2025) 'Black Hornet 4 micro drone packs heavy recon duty into a tiny package', 311 Institute, 26 March. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/black-hornet-4-micro-drone-packs-heavy-recon-duty-into-a-tiny-package/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Teledyne’s Black Hornet 4 Nano-Drone has won the US Department of Defense Blue UAS Refresh award, the has company announced. That may not mean much to the average person, but it does give me an excuse to talk about the palm-size infantry recon helicopter which, one day, might be reduced down to the size of a fly – or a small Dragonfly at least.
It may have a passing resemblance to a toy helicopter, however, the Black Hornet 4 is anything but. It's the latest generation of the Norway-based Teledyne Black Hornet family of nano-drones designed to be used by infantry soldiers to sort out the lay of the land without sticking their heads out into danger.
See it in action.
Weighing in at only about 70 grams (2.5 oz) and with a rotor diameter of 190 mm (7.5 in), the Black Hornet 4 can be assembled and launched from its carrying case in under 20 seconds. According to the maker, it can fly at 10 m/sec (33 ft/sec) for over 30 minutes on a single battery charge and can handle wind gusts of up to 30 knots (34 mph, 55 km/h) – which is reassuring to anyone who's seen their lightweight drone going sailing off in a gentle breeze.
Controlled from a small handheld unit, the Black Hornet 4 has a radio range of 2 km (1.24 miles) and secure communications links thanks to encryption, dynamic power, and frequency jumping functions. It also has a certain degree of autonomy for Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLoS) operation and in GPS-denied areas. It has in-built maps, collision avoidance, and can even follow a virtual string line to keep it on course around tight corners, including in urban areas, trenches, and buildings.
It also has a high degree of stealthiness with low visibility and low motor and rotor noise. Exactly how quiet is, to excuse the pun, a bit hush hush.
At the business end, the Black Hornet 4 has what is claimed to be the world's smallest thermal camera. A 12-MP electro-optical camera, a navigation camera, and a white LED lamp. Video feeds are at 1,280 x 720 pixels, snapshots at 3,024 x 4,032 pixels, and thermal imaging video and snapshots at 512 x 640 pixels.
Evaluated with 35 other UAS systems, the Black Hornet 4 was one of those chosen for the Blue UAS Refresh award, which means it can go on for NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) and cyber security verification before getting an Authority to Operate (ATO) certification to work with US armed forces.
"Black Hornet 4 has been extremely well received by the war fighter since it was first introduced in late 2023," said Doctor JihFen Lei, president of Teledyne. "We are very proud to see Black Hornet 4 selected as a winner of Blue UAS Refresh and are confident this unique drone will continue to have a huge impact for all operators across all missions.
"Along with having already been selected for the US Army’s Soldier Borne Sensor Tranche 2 program, this latest achievement will make Black Hornet 4 available to an even larger cohort of users."
Source: Teledyne
FAQ
Why does this matter?
In the future these drones will be tinier, better, and much more capable.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
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Sources and further reading
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 26 March 2025. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2025). Black Hornet 4 micro drone packs heavy recon duty into a tiny package. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/black-hornet-4-micro-drone-packs-heavy-recon-duty-into-a-tiny-package/
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