UK launches palm-sized, remote-controlled drone
4 Feb 2013 6:41 AM IST
Britain has launched a tiny, palm-sized remote-controlled aircraft with three cameras as its latest weapon in the fight against the Taliban.
Codenamed ‘Black Hornet’, the drone fits easily into the palm and looks like a toy helicopter, the Daily Mail reported.
The eight-inch-long plastic moulded drone has three cameras hidden inside its nose and weighs 15 grams.
It has a smooth grey body and twin black rotors, and stays airborne thanks to a small rechargeable battery.
It can either be piloted directly or programmed to fly to a given set of co-ordinates using GPS, and then return to base after spying on enemy positions, the daily said.
On most operations, the Black Hornet is controlled by a soldier using a computer game-style joystick.
The whole package, the helicopter, monitor and stick, fit into a pocket-sized case.
The Black Hornet - properly called a Proxdynamics PD-100 Personal Reconnaissance System - is a joint British-Norwegian venture and was passed fit for service in Afghanistan after extensive field trials in Cyprus last year.
Major Adam Foden of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force explained how they used Black Hornet with great success on recent missions into Taliban territory.
‘The pictures it delivers back to the monitor are really clear. And Black Hornet is so small and quiet that the locals can't see or hear it,’ he said.
CAMERON TO HOLD TALKS WITH PAKISTANI, AFGHAN LEADERS
British Prime Minister David Cameron will hold key talks with leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan to discuss the peace process and prevent a Taliban resurgence when foreign troops withdraw from the war-torn country in 2014.
The two-day trilateral summit, the third since last summer, is aimed at improving co-operation between both countries to promote regional stability.
For the first time Afghan and Pakistani Army and intelligence chiefs will also take part in the discussions. A spokesperson of British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday the premier will dine with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, at his country retreat Chequers in Buckinghamshire, southeast, England tonight.
He will then hold a trilateral summit with both leaders and their aides on Monday, ‘to discuss the prevention of a Taliban resurgence when foreign troops leave’. NATO troops are scheduled to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of next year. ‘The Prime Minister will host the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan at Chequers on Sunday and on Monday as part of his ongoing efforts to help to strengthen Afghanistan-Pakistan relations, support an Afghan peace and reconciliation process and promote regional peace and stability,’ the spokesperson said.
Codenamed ‘Black Hornet’, the drone fits easily into the palm and looks like a toy helicopter, the Daily Mail reported.
The eight-inch-long plastic moulded drone has three cameras hidden inside its nose and weighs 15 grams.
It has a smooth grey body and twin black rotors, and stays airborne thanks to a small rechargeable battery.
It can either be piloted directly or programmed to fly to a given set of co-ordinates using GPS, and then return to base after spying on enemy positions, the daily said.
On most operations, the Black Hornet is controlled by a soldier using a computer game-style joystick.
The whole package, the helicopter, monitor and stick, fit into a pocket-sized case.
The Black Hornet - properly called a Proxdynamics PD-100 Personal Reconnaissance System - is a joint British-Norwegian venture and was passed fit for service in Afghanistan after extensive field trials in Cyprus last year.
Major Adam Foden of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force explained how they used Black Hornet with great success on recent missions into Taliban territory.
‘The pictures it delivers back to the monitor are really clear. And Black Hornet is so small and quiet that the locals can't see or hear it,’ he said.
CAMERON TO HOLD TALKS WITH PAKISTANI, AFGHAN LEADERS
British Prime Minister David Cameron will hold key talks with leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan to discuss the peace process and prevent a Taliban resurgence when foreign troops withdraw from the war-torn country in 2014.
The two-day trilateral summit, the third since last summer, is aimed at improving co-operation between both countries to promote regional stability.
For the first time Afghan and Pakistani Army and intelligence chiefs will also take part in the discussions. A spokesperson of British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday the premier will dine with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, at his country retreat Chequers in Buckinghamshire, southeast, England tonight.
He will then hold a trilateral summit with both leaders and their aides on Monday, ‘to discuss the prevention of a Taliban resurgence when foreign troops leave’. NATO troops are scheduled to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of next year. ‘The Prime Minister will host the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan at Chequers on Sunday and on Monday as part of his ongoing efforts to help to strengthen Afghanistan-Pakistan relations, support an Afghan peace and reconciliation process and promote regional peace and stability,’ the spokesperson said.
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