Provoking the Dogs of War

Red Cat Holdings—the San Juan, Puerto Rico-based purveyor of robotic hardware and software germane to the global drone industry—announced that it will send a delegation headed-up by company CEO Jeff Thompson to palaver with representatives of selected NATO countries currently considering furnishing Ukrainian forces with military drones.

Mr. Thompson will meet with NATO leaders to demonstrate the Teal 2, a new military-grade drone from Red Cat subsidiary Teal Drones—one of only five companies approved in 2020 by the U.S. Department of Defense to act as vendors of small unmanned aerial systems for the U.S. federal government.

Currently available to first-adopter customers and expected to officially launch in 2023’s second quarter, Teal 2 is designed—per its maker’s promotional material—to “Dominate the Night.” Teal extols the model, referring to it as a “world-leading drone solution for nighttime operations.”Ukrainian forces—according to unbiased and unimpeachable U.S. legacy news sources—“lack enough drones to spot targets and direct artillery, especially more-expensive models with night-vision cameras that would allow them to work in the dark, when the Russians seek to creep forward.”

Mr. Thompson stated: “In Ukraine and elsewhere, most military operations take place at night, and the Teal 2 gives warfighters exactly the solution they need. Teal 2 is the first drone to integrate the world’s best new night-time drone camera—next-generation thermal-imaging technology from Teledyne FLIR [Forward-Looking Infra-Red]. We’ve also partnered with other industry leaders, such as Tomahawk Robotics, Reveal Technology, and Immervision, to offer additional game-changing drone capabilities. These include multi-vehicle control, 3D mapping, and object detection.”

To date, Red Cat Holdings has provided the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency 54 Teal 2 drones. Additionally, Red Cat has furnished an undisclosed NATO country with 15 units of its Golden Eagle military drone for deployment to Ukrainian forces.

Thompson added: “Red Cat wants to do all we can to get the Ukrainian warfighter the best and latest American technology that allows them to dominate the night, and that’s why I’m meeting with European military decision makers this week.”

In addition to serving as a vendor of small unmanned aerial systems for the U.S. federal government, Teal is one of only three drone concerns invited to participate in the Short Range Reconnaissance Tranche 2 (SRR T2)—a Pentagon initiative that seeks to provision U.S. Army platoons with a portable, small, unmanned aerial system (sUAS) capable of improving American warfighters’ situational awareness by carrying out Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

FMI: www.redcatholdings.com