The US Army is laser-focused on delivering uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) to its warfighters, from the squad to the battalion level. On 19 November, Red Cat, a US producer of small UASs (sUAS), announced that it won the Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) Tranche 2 Program of Record. Produced by Red Cat’s Teal subsidiary, the Black Widow sUAS will begin production in early 2025.
Red Cat announced that the US Army had 5,880 systems, each consisting of two aircraft. Nevertheless, the total number will be “subject to change over the five-year period of performance,” according to the company. The US Army’s Program Executive Office (PEO) Aviation explained told the author, in an article published by Shephard Media, that “exact funding, quantities, and other details are to be determined at contract award which is not expected prior to the end of the calendar year.”
Fielding of the SRR Tranche 2 sUASs will include improved autonomy, a new controller, explains the US Army, and a modular open systems approach to allow for “quick integration of new technologies and capabilities.”
The defense news agency Breaking Defense noted that the Army has several ongoing initiatives to provide soldiers with aerial drones. These programs are the Soldier Borne Sensor with Teledyne FLIR’s Black Hornet 4 to squads; the SRR drones for platoons; a medium-range reconnaissance drone for company formations; the Future Tactical Uncrewed Aircraft System (FTUAS) for brigades; and a future long-range reconnaissance drone for battalions.
Black Widow weighs 1.63kg, has a flight time of over 35 minutes, a max range of around 8km, and a speed of 10 m/s. The sUAS also has farsight 3d mapping software, artificial intelligence target identification tracking, and classification capabilities.
Teledyne FLIR provides its EO/IR Hadron 640R+ longwave infrared and mega-pixel visible camera and its Prism AI. The company told the author of this analysis, “Teledyne FLIR is able to supply nearly unlimited volume of the Hadron 640R+ from its high-tech manufacturing facility in California, USA, so that the needs of TEAL and all other Hadron customers can be satisfied.”
The SRR program is evolving to keep up with new technologies. In early 2022, the RQ-28A drone, produced by the California-based Skydio, was selected as the first winner of the Army’s SRR competition. The first drones of that SRR program were delivered to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. The RQ-28A is the Army’s first program of record quadcopter, explained the Army, as it was, at the time, “a new and disruptive” organic capability that was fielded to platoons via a portable rucksack Vertical Take Off and Lift (VTOL) sUAS.
It is necessary to note the importance of the SRR program for the US Army’s frontline soldiers. The service explained back in 2022, “because the RQ-28A is the Army’s first-ever rucksack portable quadcopter for issue to maneuver platoons, there are no current tactics, techniques or procedures — known as TTP — for operating the system.” Adopting drones at the squad level and above requires training for US soldiers and developing new techniques from scratch.
The US Army will continue to be focused on adopting emerging technologies for frontline operations. In an October commentary, Major General Michael C. McCurry, US Army Futures Command Chief of Staff; Brigadier General Phillip C. Baker, Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team Director; and Brigadier General David C. Phillips, Program Executive Officer- Aviation, argued.“for the future fight we must have a layered approach to formation capability that supports multiple echelons from squad to Corps.”
Future acquisition programs will also focus on the speed at which the Army will receive drones from suppliers. Instead of waiting years for drones to arrive, it is “imperative” that the Army speeds up and optimizes its approach to acquisition to “maintain an asymmetric advantage over our adversaries and deliver timely, lethal, and survivable capabilities to the Joint Force.”
Similarly, the three generals noted that the Army now has a “unique contracting approach by leveraging multiple contracts, instead of a sole, vendor-locked agreement with an original equipment manufacturer.” The service has not disclosed if another company besides Red Cat will be selected for SRR Tranche 2, but it should not be a surprise if it occurs.
Illustrative images from Red Cat
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