The U.S. Army is seemingly never far from great new technology. Thanks to their large budget, the United States military has had the ability to constantly innovate within the field of battle. While there has been much in the way of discussion regarding drones in warfare, there has been scant information for civilians to hold onto. Recently a report from the publication ‘Stars & Stripes’ revealed that the U.S. Army would be unveiling a rather special new gadget. According to the report, a new pocket-sized drone will be making its way to the field for live action testing in Afghanistan, among many other new announcements.
According to the report, these pocket-sized drones are truly tiny. The report goes on to state that each drone is roughly six inches in length with a weight of roughly 33 grams. Lightweight drones will make it easy for soldiers to carry their gear while they are in the field. These drones are more than nifty little flying devices, however. Each pocket-sized drone comes equipped with multiple cameras, including thermal imaging. Each drone has the ability to fly without a pilot up to a distance of 2 kilometers. The battery life of each drone is about half an hour. Experts at the United States Army anticipate this pocket drone to become a standard piece of gear for all soldiers, going forward.
FLIR systems are not unique to the battlefield, nor are drones. However, combining the two pieces of core technology into a handheld device is something that has to impress everyone. The drone has been named the Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System, and they’ve been tested in some fashion since 2016. In the coming months and years, the U.S. Army will be moving out of the testing phase as they begin to ingratiate the technology within day-to-day operations. The drones will serve as a vital piece of reconnaissance which will allow soldiers to preserve their safety while still gaining integral intel. The publication known as ‘Army Technology’ went on to detail the impact that the drones could provide in much more depth. Largely, ‘Army Technology’ focused on how the drones were designed to assist soldiers who were dismounted and deployed on the battlefield, thus giving them eyes in places that they otherwise would not have had access.
As technology grows smaller and more effective, the world continues to change. Who knows what else the Army has in store for us?
