It may not look like much but AirRobot's AR100B is a choice drone for battlefield surveillance.

At less than a kilogram total weight, a max payload of 200 grams, and just one meter in diameter the AR100B is a wholly different breed of drone compared with the MQ-9 Reaper – the drone with the most with its 3,000+ lbs of explosives and Hellfire missiles. But what it lacks in brawn it more than makes up for in surveillance capability. At over 1,200 Afghanistan missions and counting it’s clear that the AR100B unparalleled ease of use and agility makes it a highly-valued part of ground tactics strategy.

The AR100B comes from AirRobot, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform producers with offices all over the world including the UK and the US. As the latest upgrade of AirRobot’s UAV platforms, the AR100B boasts more powerful engines and longer duration batteries. It’s quiet and easy to control – so easy in fact troops routinely take the stick with little or no training. Its four rotors give it vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability, with an operational radius of 1,000 meters and max flight time of 20 minutes. Infra Red and low light cameras the AR100B can be used to collect high definition video or take photos during inspection and surveillance tasks. They give ground troops a bird’s eye view into otherwise obstructed areas to scan for possible dangers such as hidden insurgents and armored vehicles. The AR100B may not be the sexiest drone, but it may just be a soldier’s best friend.

[image credits: AirRobot-UK]
image: AR100B