Military Embedded Systems

Small UAS in development for Army to focus on autonomy

News

March 14, 2022

Emma Helfrich

Technology Editor

Military Embedded Systems

Stock photo.

HUMACAO, Puerto Rico. Red Cat Holdings, Inc., a hardware-enabled software provider to the drone industry, announced that its subsidiary Teal Drones has been selected by the Department of Defense's (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and U.S. Army to compete in the Short Range Reconnaissance Tranche 2 (SRR T2) Program of Record. 

According to the announcement, Teal was selected to develop a next-generation small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) designed for surveillance and reconnaissance (S&R) duties, with a focus on autonomous capability, for the U.S. Army. 

Officials claim that the ultimate goal of the SRR T2 program is to provide a small, rucksack-portable sUAS that is designed to provide all Army platoons with situational awareness beyond the next terrain feature.

Following a demonstration in September 2021, Teal was notified by the U.S. Army's Short Range Reconnaissance Product Office that it would advance to the prototype phase of the SRR T2 program and was awarded a $1.5 million prototype contract.