The U.S. Army has started production of the short-range reconnaissance, or SRR, drones as part of its effort to modernize its battlefield capabilities.
Teal Drones, a subsidiary of Red Cat, is one of the two vendors the service selected to manufacture drones Tranche 2 of the program. The company will equip Transformation in Contact, or TiC, units with its Black Widow unmanned aircraft system to counter emerging threats, the Army said Tuesday.
Fielding of drones as part of SRR Tranche 1 began in September 2022. The Army has so far fielded the capability across 16 brigades.
For Tranche 2 of the program, the Army incorporated lessons learned from previous fieldings into the technologies.
SRR drones are equipped with sensors that integrate with the Army’s uncrewed vehicle control and Android tactical assault kit capabilities. The unmanned systems are expected to increase soldier survivability by providing real-time intelligence and target acquisition, detecting threats and identifying safe routes.
Black Widow UAS Details
Black Widow is part of Teal Drones’ Arachnid family of unmanned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and precision strike systems.
According to the company, Black Widow weighs about 1.63 kilograms, making it easily portable, and quiet acoustic signature for stealth missions. It can fly at a speed of 23 miles per hour with a range of 8 kilometers and a flight time of over 35 minutes.
The drone is equipped with Teledyne’s forward-looking infrared, or FLIR, Prism artificial intelligence software stack to detect, classify and track objects of interest. Black Widow also features Doodle Hex-Band Radio with frequency stepping to enhance resilience against electronic warfare attacks; Reveal Farsight 3D mapping software; and Athena AI target identification, tracking and classification software.
Related Articles
Emil Michael, the Department of Defense’s under secretary of defense for research and engineering—its unofficial chief technology officer—has taken on the role of acting director of the Defense Innovation Unit, Defense News reported Tuesday. Michael’s appointment follows Doug Beck’s resignation as head of DIU. As the Pentagon’s CTO, Michael is responsible for DOD’s research, development and prototyping enterprise with oversight of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Missile Defense Agency. In May, he was confirmed by the Senate for the under secretary for research and engineering position. Who Is Emil Michael? Michael’s industry career included time as Uber’s
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has formally appointed Brian Bonacci as its new chief of staff. CISA Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala swore Bonacci in during a ceremony attended by Bonacci’s family. Learn about the latest in U.S. homeland security programs, efforts and strategic initiatives at the 2025 Homeland Security Summit, where industry experts will gather to discuss the most pressing threats facing the country and the measures being implemented to counteract them. Register now for this exciting GovCon event. Who Is Brian Bonacci? The new chief of staff brings more than three decades of federal information technology leadership to
Kevin Plexico, senior vice president of Information Solutions at Deltek and a six-time Wash100 awardee, said artificial intelligence is helping government contractors streamline proposal development processes. In a blog post published June 25 on Deltek’s website, Plexico wrote that AI has become a “brainstorming companion” by enabling proposal teams to respond to requests for information, draft capture plans, develop compliance matrices and break down complex requests for proposals into manageable components. “And these aren’t just conveniences, they’re force multipliers that elevate the entire proposal process,” noted Plexico, a GovCon Expert. “Proposal teams that embrace AI will have the edge through greater speed, sharper