To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much her Department has spent on the acquisition of Black Hornet drones.
Answered on
17 July 2019
The Army first purchased 160 Black Hornet 1 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in 2011 as part of a £20 million contract with FLIR UAS (formerly Prox Dynamics). The systems were used on operations in Afghanistan, but that capability has since been phased out. In 2019 the Army purchased 90 of the upgraded Black Hornet 3 UAS at a contract value of £1.7 million. There is no intention to deploy the capability on operations at this time.
Answered by
Ministry of Defence