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Red Cat Holdings, Inc. a prominent developer of drone technology for military and government operations, has unveiled its product roadmap for the ARACHNID™ family of unmanned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and precision strike systems at AUSA 2024.
The ARACHNID family of systems is purpose built for the U.S. Army’s roadmap to integrate UAS and long endurance aircraft in a combined arms fight with synchronized fire and maneuver across various command levels.
Red Cat currently addresses the needs of warfighters at the platoon and company level with drones that span capabilities and endurance for short and medium-range operations in air, land, and maritime environments. Future potential partnerships will enable long-range reconnaissance.
Red Cat is working to redefine the future of sUAS for defense applications by combining the capabilities of portable, low-cost, and recoverable ISR drones with precision strike payloads. The company is enabling a shift away from legacy, high-cost UAS to highly interoperable systems that can adapt to a rapidly evolving battlefield. This shift includes layered UAS/LE deployment to shape fires and maneuver, extended reach via networks and autonomy, and reduced cognitive burden with increased safety and survivability for warfighters.
“The U.S. Army has prioritized integrating UAS across military formations from squad to corps and have specific requirements informed by an understanding of emerging real-world threats,” said Jeff Thompson, Red Cat CEO.
“We are introducing the ARACHNID™ family of systems to ensure we can react to the rapidly evolving needs of sUAS for short, medium and long range operations. With future partnerships, our drones can be dropped from long endurance aircraft or integrated into unmanned surface vessels to extend reach and penetration at the battlefield’s tactical edge.”
Technology Evolution
ARACHNID advances Red Cat’s established leadership in the sUAS space and brings enhanced capabilities and tech integrations to its existing flagship products from Teal. To reflect this technology evolution and the capabilities of the newest model that Red Cat developed for the U.S. Army’s SRR Program of Record, the company has rebranded its flagship within the ARACHNID family of systems:
Black Widow™
The Black Widow™ is the successor to Teal 2. It’s a highly capable, rucksack portable sUAS designed specifically for operation in Electronic Warfare (EW) environments. A fully modular architecture enables swift adaptation to mission requirements including short range reconnaissance and secondary payload operation. Black Widow™ is significantly enhanced from the Teal 2 model with longer endurance, EW resilience, and advanced autonomy.
WEB™
WEB™ (Warfighter Electronic Bridge) is a Ground Control Station purpose built to operate Red Cat’s entire ARACHNID family of systems for military operations. WEB is fully integrated with Kinesis and ATAK to provide seamless integration with platforms and enhance mission effectiveness. WEB can also function as a stand-alone GCS for other non-Red Cat platforms, offering multi-domain versatility.
Accelerating Development FANG™ & TRICHON™
To address the needs of medium-range reconnaissance and persistent strike systems, Red Cat is accelerating the development of its FANG™ line of First-Person View (FPV) drones. Additionally, Red Cat’s product roadmap includes TRICHON™, which will build upon the FlightWave Edge 130 Blue, a military-grade VTOL tricopter for medium-range mapping, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
“The Pentagon’s Replicator initiative established a bold mission to accelerate the deployment of attritable sUAS to the warfighter. In concert with Replicator’s mission we are accelerating the development of our products that will enhance the effectiveness and safety of military and security operations,” said George Matus, Red Cat CTO.
“In many ways, domestic UAS innovation has been spurred by learnings in Ukraine and Israel, where drones have clearly demonstrated asymmetric warfare. The ARACHNID family of systems represents what we believe the future of drones needs to look like.”
The new family of systems will leverage ongoing industry collaboration, underpinned by the Red Cat Futures Initiative. Both through Red Cat’s agile internal research and development, as well as robust partnerships, the family of systems will continually iterate with new capabilities across hardware and software. Red Cat is thought to have the ability to manufacture these systems at a high production rate with superior quality in order to meet the demands of customers globally.
To meet with Red Cat and see the Black Widow™ and rest of the family of systems, visit booth 330 at AUSA, October 14-16, 2024.
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