US Army increases scope of Soldier Borne Sensor programme to acquire Black Hornet 3 UAS, budget documents reveal
The Black Hornet Airborne Personal Reconnaissance System (RPS) has been designed to be used by dismounted soldiers (Photo: Teledyne FLIR)
FLIR Unmanned Aerial Systems has been awarded a $93.89 million contract for its Black Hornet 3 nano-drone as part of the US Army’s Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) programme. The contract and the latest US Army budget estimate have highlighted several changes in the SBS programme.
On 13 April, the US DoD announced it had awarded FLIR Unmanned Aerial Systems a $93.89 million firm-fixed-price contract for the Black Hornet 3 nano-drone, spare parts and ancillary services. The contract has an estimated completion date of 11 April 2028.
This is the sixth known US Army award for the system, contracts which, to date, total $186.09 million.
| Known Contract number | Value | Date |
|---|---|---|
| First | $2.6 million | May 2018 |
| Second | $39.6 million | January 2019 |
| Third | $20.6 million | May 2020 |
| Fourth | $15.4 million | May 2021 |
| Fifth | $14 million | May 2022 |
| Sixth | $93.89 million | April 2023 |
The funds have been allocated as part of
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