by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby
April 26, 2023 marks the official launch of military technology company Red Cat Holdings’ new military-grade sUAS, the Teal 2.
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The drone will be on public display for the first time at the 2023 AAAA Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit in Nashville, Tennessee. Previously limited to early-adopters, the Teal 2 is newly available to order for military, government and commercial applications. The system is manufactured at Red Cat’s Salt Lake City-based factory.
“Most military operations take place at night, and the Teal 2 is exactly the sUAS that warfighters have been asking for,” said Red Cat CEO Jeff Thompson. “Teal 2 is designed to ‘Dominate the Night™’ and arrives as the world’s leading small unmanned aircraft system for nighttime operations. The system also offers the latest intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) technology, delivering time-critical information and enabling operators to make faster, smarter decisions.”
The first sUAS equipped with Teledyne FLIR‘s new Hadron 640R sensor, the Teal 2 grants customers the highest resolution thermal imaging available in a compact (Group 1) form factor, specialized for operating at night. The rugged, portable Teal 2 is able to be deployed in the harshest environments. Multi-vehicle command and control enables a 360-degree view of a target, or ISR on multiple targets. In addition to Teledyne FLIR, technology partners for the Teal 2 include Athena AI, Reveal Technology and Tomahawk Robotics.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an early-adopter of Teal 2, ordered 54 units, which are currently being leveraged to grant supplemental airborne reconnaissance, surveillance and tracking capability to improve situational awareness for U.S. field commanders and agents.
Red Cat subsidiary Teal Drones is a member of the “Blue UAS” list of manufacturers authorized to supply the U.S. military with equipment. The company is one of only three drone manufacturers invited to take part in the U.S. Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance Tranche 2 program, which seeks to produce a portable military sUAS for surveillance and reconnaissance operations.
“The advanced technology and innovative design of the Teal 2 will help redefine the future of defense,” said Thompson. “The AAAA summit this week is your first opportunity to see the system up close and in person.”
Read more:
- Athena AI, Teal 2 Drone: Computer Vision to Identify Weapons, Friends and Foes at Night
- Rebuilding America’s Defense Industry: Utah Gov. Tours Teal Drones HQ
- New Teal Golden Eagle Drone Will Use Immervision Cameras for Low-Light Navigation
- What Drones Do US Border Patrol Use? Teal Drones Wins $1 M Contract for Golden Eagle
- Teledyne FLIR Launches Development Kits for Fast Integration of the Hadron 640R, Thermal and Visible Dual Camera Module
Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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