MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. Russia’s United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation (UIMC, part of the state Rostec Corporation) is developing a line of miniature unmanned aircraft capable of detecting the enemy’s disguised equipment and manpower round-the-clock.

"The miniature copters the size of a dragonfly fit in the palm of a human hand and are in fact pocket drones. They make almost no noise, they are easy to operate and maneuver well. Their operational range is not very wide but it is enough to fulfill the surveillance tasks concerning close combat, security protection and participation in anti-terrorist operations. These drones are relatively inexpensive so it is easy to replace them in case they are lost," a source in the corporation told TASS.

The small drones are equipped with thermal scopes, video and photocameras capable of transmitting HD quality data via remote control.

According to the source, the copters under development can be utilized at large industrial enterprises where there is a need to control the thermal state of various facilities. Firefighters and rescue services can also use these copters while searching for victims, detecting fire areas, assessing the situation and determining the ways of evacuation.

These miniature drones are the counterpart of the Norwegian 16-gram unmanned coptercraft dubbed the Black Hornet, that the British and the US special forces use.