New Defense System Simultaneously Controls Air, Ground Vehicles

Red Cat subsidiary, Teal Drones, has expanded the capabilities of its multi-vehicle platform, with a new partnership that allows Teal to simultaneously control its air and ground-based vehicles. 

The partnership with Tomahawk Robotics builds on Teal’s existing 4-Ship platform, which allows a user to operate up to four of Teal’s Golden Eagle drones. The latest update extends the system to allow a single operator to also control land-based rovers and robots, as well as allowing operators to hand over control to one another without shutting down the operation.

“Our partnership with Tomahawk Robotics takes Teal’s 4-Ship to a whole new level – allowing the warfighter in the field to simultaneously control the Golden Eagle and other unmanned vehicles, such as rovers and robots on the ground, as well as other unmanned aircraft – all within a single application on a single pane of glass,” said Jeff Thompson, Red Cat CEO. “Allowing fighters to coordinate an arsenal of unmanned systems in the air and on the ground gives them a significant advantage in finding and subduing the enemy. This is a game changer.”

The ability to pass controls between operators also means that a mission can be adapted to the circumstances, allowing an array of unmanned vehicles to splinter into different groups to maintain surveillance of a target.

The new deal will harness Tomahawk Robotics’ ecosystem, dubbed Kinesis, which enables multi-vehicle control, data sharing between the different unmanned systems, and includes third-party features such as 3D mapping software.

Teal is one of just a handful of drone manufacturers approved to supply the U.S. military, and the recent announcement follows news that the U.S. Border Patrol purchased more than $1 million worth of surveillance and tracking drones from Teal.

“Red Cat and Teal have established themselves as vital partners to the U.S. defense forces in creating small, unmanned aircraft that give fighters in the field the advanced situational awareness that can mean the difference between success and failure,” said Brad Truesdell, Tomahawk Robotics CEO. “The integration of our Kinesis AI-enabled control software into the 4-Ship platform holds the potential to create an exceptional multi-vehicle system that can play an out-size role on the battlefield.”

The news follows a growing trend of the automation of warfare and defense, with ongoing geopolitical tensions and the growing accessibility of robotics meaning autonomous solutions are being increasingly used for surveillance and security capabilities.