British troops in Afghanistan are the first to use state of the art handheld nano surveillance helicopters, the MoD has announced.

Pictures show soldiers using the Black Hornet Nano Unmanned Air Vehicle on the frontline. It measures around 4 inches by 1 inch and provides troops on the ground with vital situational awareness.

Sergeant Scott Weaver, of The Queens Royal Lancers, launches a Black Hornet, Nano UAV from a compound in Afghanistan during Operation QALB.

Op QALB is a joint ISAF and ANSF operation, its aim is find enemy caches and disturb Insurgent supply chains.