The US Army has begun fielding the PD-100 Black Hornet Nano Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) drone.

The service’s Program Executive Office Soldier (PEO Soldier) delivered the first systems to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division in late April, and the unit has been conducting classroom and field training with the system, culminating in a exercise to prepare for an upcoming deployment.

“Using this system, Soldiers can understand their operational environment better so they can make better decisions and make these decisions quicker than ever,” Lead Engineer for the unmanned systems at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center (CCDC SC), John Paul Kruszewski said in a statement.

“It makes Soldiers more effective while reducing their tactical risk.” The CCDC SC is dedicated to using science and technology to ensure America’s warfighters are optimized, protected, and lethal.”

Sgt Dalton Kruse, a 3BCT UAS operator added, “This system is something new that not a lot of Soldiers have touched or even seen before, so it’s cool to test it out and push it to its limits before we take it with us on our deployment.

“Most of us have never flown a drone before, but this training gave us the confidence and knowledge to use the system, making us more comfortable to use it while deployed. It was easy to pick up and fly, very user-friendly, and I can already tell that this system will benefit my unit downrange.”

The Black Hornet entered service with the Australian Army in 2017 and is being rolled out to most units across the service,. It is also in service with the UK and a number of NATO operators.

A US Army video about the Black Hornet Nano SBS can be viewed here.