Red Cat Secures $1.2M in Funding for Military Drone Program

Red Cat’s subsidiary Teal Drones has received $1.2 million in additional funding for its work developing a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) for the army.

Teal was first awarded the contract last year, commissioned to develop the sUAS prototype as part of the U.S. Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance Program (SRR). The program is in its final stage, with Teal one of three vendors competing to produce the sUAS.

The latest funding is part of the Army’s overall commitment of $2.7 million for Teal’s participation.

The SRR program was set up to design a portable sUAS for surveillance and reconnaissance tasks by Army platoons, as well as improve situational awareness. 

“Uncrewed systems are a disruptive technology that provide soldiers an unfair advantage on the battlefield,” said Maj. Josh McMillion, U.S. Army SRR APM. “SRR is the Army’s solution to provide this capability now to ensure our soldiers have the technological edge over the enemy in any operational environment and never have a fair fight.”

Teal has said its prototype will use some of the same technology as its military-grade sUAS, the Teal 2. Launched in April, the Teal 2 is designed for night operations and is equipped with a thermal imaging sensor to provide high-resolution videos to operators. 

Related:Red Cat Military Drone Approved for Government Use

Teal 2 received approval from the U.S. Department of Defense for government use in April.

“A future SRR production contract is a major opportunity for any company selected, and Teal is excited to give the warfighter the best we have,” said George Matus, Teal’s CEO. “I’m confident the SRR prototype we’re developing will meet and exceed the Army’s requirements.”