Join Todd Bishop and John Cook weekends on KIRO Radio to talk Seattle technology.Conversation starters
Most popular
Bonneville Seattle is raising funds for the construction of a second Fisher House at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma and we need your help.UK sends hand-held helicopter drones to war zone
February 4, 2013 @ 6:08 am
LONDON (AP) - British soldiers in Afghanistan have been issued with surveillance drones so small they can fit in the palm of a man's hand.
The Scandinavian-designed Black Hornet Nano weighs as little as 16 grams (roughly half an ounce) _ the same as a finch. The 4-inch (10-centimeter) -long helicopter is fitted with a tiny camera which relays still images and video to a remote terminal.
"We used it to look for insurgent firing points and check out exposed areas of the ground before crossing, which is a real asset," said Sgt. Christopher Petherbridge, with Britain's Brigade Reconnaissance Force. In a statement, he called the Hornet easy to operate and said it offered "amazing capability to the guys on the ground."
The military said Sunday that the toy-like Hornet is capable of flying even in windy conditions.
It said the Hornet was developed by Norway's Prox Dynamics AS as part of a 20 million-pound ($31 million) contract for 160 units with southern England's Marlborough Communications Ltd.
Drones of all shapes and sizes have rapidly become a mainstay of U.S., British and other nations' military operations around the world. Late last year the U.K. said it was doubling the size of its armed drone fleet in Afghanistan to 10 with the purchase of a new batch of Reapers.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
-
Miracle
Seattle native is only person ever cured of HIV and returns home to boost the cure -
Back In Business
A temporary bridge span across the Skagit River is set to open Wednesday -
High Altitude Upgrade
The state's highest outhouse atop Mount Rainier is getting a badly needed upgrade
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.