Red Cat wins U.S. Army next-gen drone contract over Skydio
Red Cat’s Black Widow drone features forward-looking obstacle-avoidance capabilities and an integrated FLIR Prism AI software stack. | Source: Red Cat
Red Cat Holdings Inc. this week announced that it won the U.S. Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance, or SRR, program of record contract. The company replaced Skydio on this contract. The U.S. Army set an initial acquisition target of 5,880 systems over a five-year period.
Skydio first earned this contract in 2021. At the time, it was valued at $99.8 million with a base year value of $20.2 million. While the company did compete for the contract this time around with its X10D drone, the Army said Red Cat’s system was more aligned with its requirements.
“This is a powerful moment in time, coming after five years of blood, sweat, and tears put into SRR by our incredible team” stated George Matus, chief technology officer of Red Cat and founder of Teal, a subsidiary of Red Cat. “The long-awaited production selection marks a new era for our company and the future of American drones.”
“We were selected based on soldier feedback, technical performance, volume manufacturability, and system cost,” he said. “Our top priority now is to start ramping production of the next-generation system, recently announced as the Black Widow and WEB, and give warfighters the tools they need to be successful on the modern battlefield.”
Red Cat expects increased defense demand
San Juan, Puerto Rico-based Red Cat provides integrated robotic hardware and software for military, government, and commercial operations. Through its Teal Drones and FlightWave Aerospace Systems subsidiaries, the company offers drones including:
- Black Widow, its flagship product, a small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) with advanced capabilities
- TRICHON fixed-wing vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle for extended endurance and range
- FANG, a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)-compliant, first-person view (FPV) drone optimized for military operations with precision-strike capabilities
Red Cat said it is preparing to meet increased demand across the rest of the U.S. Department of Defense, the federal government, and allied countries. The company’s Black Widow won the contract. Part of the company’s ARACHNID family of systems, the drones are designed for electronic warfare operations.
Black Widow has a modular architecture, enabling swift adaptation to requirements for missions such as short-range reconnaissance, said Red Cat. It can also handle secondary payloads.
The company said its system is purpose-built for the warfighter, manufactured in the U.S., and intended to increase survivability and warfighter safety.
Army gives new ARACHNID line a lift
The Army made the production selection after a test and evaluation process of Teal’s next-generation sUAS. The Army Project Management Office for Uncrewed Aircraft Systems, Army Maneuver Battle Lab, Army Test and Evaluation Command, and Army Operational Test Center evaluated the systems.
Red Cat said the SRR contract selection builds on momentum from its September acquisition of FlightWave, last month’s announcement of the ARACHNID line, and the creation of the Red Cat Futures Initiative. This week, Red Cat also said it is working with Palladyne AI Corp. to integrate Palladyne’s software into Teal drones.
“Both the operational and tactical levels of war and maneuver of combat elements have evolved significantly over the past couple of years,” observed Paul Edward Funk II, a retired four-star Army general and Red Cat board member.
“Operational success today depends on the ability to seamlessly move data across the battlefield,” he said. “From a tactical perspective, small unmanned aerial systems that are rucksack-portable are playing a vital role in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, as well as surgical-strike capabilities based on the real-time needs of the warfighter.”
Skydio brings in $170M in funding
This latest news comes a little over a year after Skydio grounded its consumer drone operations to focus on its enterprise and public-sector customers.
According to the San Mateo, Calif.-based company, its drones are being used to put sensors in dangerous and important places to perform inspections, find missing children, and keep the military safe. They also make core industries, like public safety, transportation, energy, construction, and defense, safer and more efficient, it claimed.
It wasn’t all bad news for Skydio this week. TechCrunch reported that the company raised $170 million in a Series E extension round. This adds to the $230 million it raised last year. Skydio reached “unicorn” status, or $1 billion valuation, around its Series D in 2021.
Investors in the latest round include KDDI, a Japanese telecom operator, and Axon, which develops tasers and other technology for police forces. The extension also included previous investors such as Linse Capital, which currently owns more than 21% of Skydio.
Skydio said its X10D drone provides timely information using advanced sensors. Its computing power can support team operations and inform the best decisions in real time, it asserted. Six custom-designed navigation lenses provide 360-degree visibility, eliminating blind spots.
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