Britain is to supply Ukraine with hundreds of “microdrones” so small they can fly within feet of Russian soldiers and enter buildings to spy on their positions.

The six-inch Black Hornet drones, which look like a child’s toy helicopter, were first used by British forces during the invasion of Afghanistan.

The miniature drones have a 1.2-mile range, a top speed of 11mph, night vision and a flight time of up to 25 minutes.

Their rotors are silent enough that they can enter compounds without being detected, while three cameras in the nose beam back high-definition video.

Boris Johnson’s office announced on Wednesday that the 850 microdrones were part of a new £54 million package. They will be jointly supplied with Norway, which co-produced the drone.

Read more: yahoo