Teledyne FLIR Defense has secured a $17.5 million deal to supply Switzerland with its Black Hornet 4 nano-class unmanned aerial vehicles, marking a significant upgrade to the country’s close-range reconnaissance assets. The nano drones will operate in conjunction with the Piranha 8×8 armored engineering vehicle, acting as a deployable ISR sensor to support battlefield awareness.
A key element of the contract involves adapting the Black Hornet’s software to interface with the Piranha’s digital infrastructure, enabling the direct transmission of live aerial imagery to the vehicle crew. Integration will be handled through an Integrated Combat Solution, with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace providing compatibility support. This configuration will also allow the drone to generate targeting cues for the Piranha’s remotely operated turret system.
According to Teledyne FLIR, the Piranha will be able to launch and recover the Black Hornet without halting movement. The Black Hornet 4 measures 255 millimeters in length, has a rotor diameter of 190 millimeters, and flies at speeds of up to 10 meters per second. The hand-launched system can be deployed in less than 20 seconds and conduct reconnaissance missions within a 2-kilometer radius, collecting optical, acoustic, and electromagnetic data while operating in winds up to 25 knots and temperatures from –20 to 43 degrees Celsius.
