Sensor supplier FLIR Systems is now a drone manufacturer after acquiring a company that makes the miniature helicopter host of its coin-sized Lepton infrared sensor. The Norwegian company—Prox Dynamics—scored a breakthrough in 2012 when it sold the 18-gram (0.6 ounce) PD-100 Black Hornet to the British Army; it says 15 nations now use the tiny surveillance drone.

FLIR announced on November 30 that it has acquired Prox Dynamics, based in Hvalstad, Norway, for $134 million. It said it will invest in improving the range, cost and performance of the PD-100 “personal reconnaissance system,” which consists of a pocket-sized base station containing two Black Hornets, a display and a hand controller, weighing 1.3 kilograms (2.8 pounds) in total. Prox Dynamics will become the FLIR Unmanned Aerial Systems line of business.

“This acquisition adds a unique unmanned aerial systems capability to our portfolio,” said Andy Teich, FLIR president and CEO. “The Prox Dynamics team has created a highly differentiated solution, incorporating our Lepton sensor, for advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance that fits well with our vision for growth for our Surveillance segment.”

The battery-powered Black Hornet live streams video and “snapshot” images to its operator via a proprietary two-way radio link. Its advertised range is 1.6 km (1 mile) with endurance of 25 minutes. Prox Dynamics introduced a “night” version of the drone fitted with an infrared sensor in 2015; according to FLIR, it uses the dime-sized Lepton longwave infrared imager, consisting of a lens fabricated in wafer form and an uncooled microbolometer focal plane array to sense radiation.

“It is very sophisticated, but it is also very intuitive and simple for the operator,” said Arne Skjaerpe, a former brigadier general with the Norwegian army who represented Prox Dynamics at the Xponential unmanned systems conference in New Orleans earlier this year. The company has produced 4,000 individual Black Hornet helicopters, he said.

Prox Dynamics has an office in Alexandria, Virginia, and has sold some PD-100 systems to the U.S. Marine Corps for test and evaluation and also provided the system for demonstration at the U.S. Army’s Expeditionary Warrior Experiment at Fort Benning, Georgia, according to Skjaerpe. In addition to military applications, the company promotes the system for law enforcement and search-and-rescue missions.