India’s elite Special Forces unit National Security Guard has acquired Black Hornet Nano helicopters from FLIR Systems meant for providing reconnaissance capability to the ground troops

New Delhi: India’s elite Special Forces unit National Security Guard is all set to acquire the world’s smallest micro unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Black Hornet Nano. The unit measures around 10 × 2.5 cm and provides the ground troops with local situational awareness in the region of their deployment. Small enough to fit in one hand the operator of this micro UAV can be trained in operating it in just 20 minutes as claimed by the Norwegian firm Prox Dynamics AS which has developed the UAV.

Using the Global Positioning System (GPS) the Black Hornet is capable of sending still images and full-motion video through digital data-link. The images are displayed on a small handheld terminal which is also used by the operator to control the UAV. Top speed of Black Hornet Nano is 18 km/h.

One of the best features of this UAV is that the data gathered by it is not stored on the system which gives an added advantage to the operator in case the drone is captured.

The UAV is already operational and is currently used by the armed forces of the United States, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Norway, and the Netherlands.

Britain was the first country in the world to deploy this state-of-the-art tiny wonder in Afghanistan and it helped the ground troops to peer around corners or over walls to identify any hidden dangers while routine patrol in villages and target locations.

NSG falls under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and was raised in 1984, following Operation Blue Star and the assassination of Indira Gandhi for combating terrorist activities and to protect the state from internal disturbances.

The group uses many high-end weapons and gadgets sourced from foreign manufacturers.