Red Cat (RCAT) Receives Air Force Order and Validates New Drone Capabilities
- Jonathan Poyer
- 2 hours ago
- 1 min read
Red Cat’s Teal Drones subsidiary received a $2.49 million firm-fixed-price contract from the U.S. Air Force Security Forces Center for Black Widow unmanned aircraft, training, batteries, spares and related support.
The systems will be used in a technical and operational assessment of Black Widow as a potential successor to the Air Force Security Forces’ existing Teal 2 fleet. Delivery is scheduled by August 24, 2026.
The immediate contract value is modest, but the evaluation is strategically important. Successful testing could position Black Widow for broader adoption across active-duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Security Forces units.
The order also builds on Black Widow’s selection for the U.S. Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance program, giving Red Cat another opportunity to establish the platform across a separate military branch.
Red Cat also completed a technology-validation event through its SPiDRWORX innovation group, testing integrations across Black Widow and Teal 2 with several industry partners.
Notable demonstrations included:
Palantir: Vision-based navigation in simulated GPS-denied conditions
Safe Pro Group: AI-assisted threat and unexploded-ordnance detection
Hoverfly: Tethered-drone communications relay extending network range
Vigilare AI: Voice and text commands, visual scene narration and operator alerts
Reveal Technology: Imagery, photogrammetry and 3D-mapping workflows
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