The United States Army is making a new bet on scaling up their drone technology. And they’re turning to a publicly traded company to do it.
What’s happening:
- Red Cat Holdings (NASDAQ: RCAT) has won the United States Army Short Range Reconnaissance Program of Record contract to supply them with drone systems
By the numbers:
- The new contract between Red Cat Holdings and the United States Army is for 5,800 individual drone systems to be purchased over 5 years
Why it matters:
- The new deal from the United States Army will also enable Red Cat Holdings to be able to sell their drone hardware and technology to other branches of the United States military as well as allied countries
Going deeper:
- Red Cat Holdings has developed next generation technology to be able to use drones for surveillance and reconnaissance missions, with a focus on real time data and being able to operate in daylight or nighttime conditions
- Drone technology for military purposes has been seeing a major uptick in funding, with legendary Silicon Valley venture capital fund Sequoia Capital previously leading the financing round for combat drone startup Neros
The intrigue:
- Red Cat Holdings was also a notable early investor into 3D drone printing startup Firestorm Labs alongside of Lockheed Matin (NYSE: LMT)
