{"id":"b3dee150-2b41-4bf8-bd47-817185b78938","companyId":"11d9426a-1c83-46f8-a45b-406940665f32","modelName":"Teal Black Widow","slug":"teal-black-widow","description":"The Teal Black Widow is a soldier-borne ISR rucksack quadcopter made by Teal Drones, a subsidiary of Red Cat Holdings (NASDAQ: RCAT), and is recorded in the aerial form factor as the US Army Short Range Reconnaissance program drone. A hand-launched, foldable Group-1 quadcopter for single-operator short-range reconnaissance, it carries a Teledyne FLIR Hadron 640R+ electro-optical/infrared payload, an AES-256 frequency-hopping Doodle Labs radio, and a Qualcomm RB5 AI-capable compute module running FLIR's Prism AI stack, with about 45 minutes of endurance and roughly five miles of link range. It is primarily a manually piloted ISR drone with assistive autonomy such as forward obstacle avoidance and a radio-off stealth mode, so the registry frames any autonomous-drone characterization as an overclaim. Its load-bearing fact is verified: the Black Widow won the US Army Short Range Reconnaissance Program of Record in a production selection announced November 19, 2024, displacing the incumbent Skydio. The registry cap-flags the contract scope, however: the actual low-rate initial production contract is about 12.9 million dollars per a US Army FOIA disclosure rather than the larger figures used in management framing, and the often-cited 5,880-systems number is the Army's stated five-year objective, explicitly subject to change, not an obligated quantity, with a reported Tranche 2 expansion to about 35 million dollars. The common framing of the Black Widow as a Black Hornet alternative is corrected here: it is a different and larger class than Teledyne FLIR's roughly 70-gram Black Hornet nano-UAV and replaced Skydio on the platoon-level SRR program rather than replacing the Black Hornet. Red Cat is a cash-burning small-cap reliant on dilutive financing, with fiscal-year 2025 revenue of 40.7 million dollars driven by SRR deliveries against a 72.1 million dollar net loss, and the registry records the maturity as low-rate production.","formFactor":"aerial","maturityStage":"production","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByModelId":null,"specs":{"notes":[{"label":"SRR program-of-record (verified) + scope correction (cap-flag)","value":"VERIFIED: Black Widow won the US Army Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) Program of Record, production selection announced Nov 19 2024, DISPLACING Skydio (the incumbent since 2021). This is a program-of-record / production SELECTION, NOT full-rate production. CAP-FLAG the scope: the actual LRIP (Low-Rate Initial Production) contract is ~$12.9M (US Army FOIA-confirmed, multiple outlets), NOT the $55M+/$80-120M management framing; the 5,880-systems figure is the Army's stated OBJECTIVE over 5 years (explicitly subject to change), NOT an obligated quantity; SRR Tranche 2 reportedly expanded to ~$35M. Reject 'billion-dollar / Pentagon-wide' framing."},{"label":"'Black Hornet alternative' framing CORRECTED","value":"Misleading as commonly stated. Black Widow (~1.9kg rucksack quadcopter, platoon-level SRR program) is a DIFFERENT, LARGER class than Teledyne FLIR's Black Hornet (~70g nano-UAV, Soldier-Borne Sensor lineage). Black Widow replaced SKYDIO on SRR, NOT the Black Hornet; they are adjacent soldier-ISR tiers, not direct substitutes."},{"label":"Autonomy posture (cap-flag)","value":"Primarily MANUALLY PILOTED soldier-ISR drone (WEB / GRIP S-20 ground controllers) with assistive autonomy (forward obstacle avoidance, FLIR Prism AI, stealth mode) + AI-capable compute (RB5). Any 'autonomous drone' framing is an OVERCLAIM; GPS-denied navigation is claimed with thin sensor-nav specifics."},{"label":"Corporate / financial state","value":"Red Cat Holdings (NASDAQ: RCAT): FY2025 revenue $40.7M (+161% YoY, driven by SRR deliveries), net loss $72.1M; ~$167.9M year-end cash funded by ~$234M net equity + convertibles; $225M equity raise launched May 2026. A cash-burning small/mid-cap reliant on dilutive financing; company states going-concern doubt resolved via 2025 raises. Blue UAS Refresh winner + NATO NSPA catalogue listing are real but listing != fielded orders/scale."},{"label":"Documented exclusion (unverified short-seller claim)","value":"A 'Chinese-component' (FANG) allegation circulated from short-seller analysis of Red Cat promo photos - source is short-biased (holds RCAT short) and NOT FOIA/independently verified; NOT recorded as fact. The same short report surfaced the verified $12.9M FOIA LRIP figure, cited above with attribution."}],"specs":"Teal Black Widow: hand-launched, foldable, rucksack-portable Group-1 soldier-ISR quadcopter for single-operator short-range reconnaissance. ~4.26 lb (1.93 kg) takeoff weight (marketing elsewhere says under 3 lb / 3.6 lb - spec inconsistency, cap-flag); 45+ min endurance; ~5 mi (8 km) link range; Teledyne FLIR Hadron 640R+ EO/IR payload; Doodle Labs Hex-Band frequency-hopping radio with AES-256; Qualcomm RB5 AI-capable compute; FLIR Prism AI software; forward obstacle avoidance + radio-off stealth mode; claimed GPS-denied operation. Made by Teal Drones, a subsidiary of Red Cat Holdings (NASDAQ: RCAT; CEO Jeff Thompson; founder/CTO George Matus; subsidiaries Teal Drones + FlightWave; Salt Lake City manufacturing).","formFactor":"aerial (soldier-borne ISR rucksack quadcopter; manually-piloted + assistive autonomy + AI compute; US Army SRR program-of-record)"},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://ir.redcatholdings.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/160/red-cat-announces-production-selection-for-u-s-army-short-range-reconnaissance-program","title":"Red Cat: production selection for US Army SRR program (Nov 19 2024; Black Widow; objective 5,880 systems)","sourceName":"Red Cat Holdings (IR)"},{"url":"https://www.therobotreport.com/red-cat-wins-u-s-army-next-gen-drone-contract-over-skydio/","title":"Red Cat wins US Army SRR contract over Skydio (program-of-record; FLIR Prism AI)","sourceName":"The Robot Report"},{"url":"https://www.aviationtoday.com/2025/08/07/red-cat-expects-lrip-order-soon-for-armys-srr-small-drone-aggressive-ramp-up-in-fy-26/","title":"Red Cat SRR: LRIP vs full-rate-production distinction; FY26 ramp framing","sourceName":"Aviation Today"},{"url":"https://ir.redcatholdings.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/172/red-cat-holdings-proud-to-announce-teals-black-widow-and-flightwaves-edge-130-selected-as-winners-of-the-blue-uas-refresh","title":"Black Widow + Edge 130 selected as Blue UAS Refresh winners (Feb 24 2025)","sourceName":"Red Cat Holdings (IR)"},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000748268/000162828026019861/rcat-20251231.htm","title":"Red Cat Holdings Form 10-K FY2025 (rev $40.7M +161% from SRR deliveries; net loss $72.1M; going-concern resolved via 2025 raises)","sourceName":"SEC EDGAR"},{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/09/11/3148375/0/en/Red-Cat-s-Teal-Drones-Black-Widow-System-Approved-for-NATO-NSPA-Catalogue.html","title":"Black Widow approved for NATO NSPA catalogue (Sept 2025; listing != orders)","sourceName":"GlobeNewswire (Red Cat release)"},{"url":"https://fuzzypandaresearch.com/rcat-army-contract-smaller-than-claimed/","title":"Short-biased counter-source (holds RCAT short): Army FOIA shows SRR LRIP ~$12.9M, smaller than management framing","sourceName":"Fuzzy Panda Research (short-biased)"}],"aliases":["Black Widow","Teal Black Widow","Red Cat Black Widow"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"manufacturerTermForTeleop":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-04T18:20:36.823Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-04T18:20:36.823Z","jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Product","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/models/teal-black-widow","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/models/teal-black-widow","name":"Teal Black Widow","alternateName":["Black Widow","Teal Black Widow","Red Cat Black Widow"],"description":"The Teal Black Widow is a soldier-borne ISR rucksack quadcopter made by Teal Drones, a subsidiary of Red Cat Holdings (NASDAQ: RCAT), and is recorded in the aerial form factor as the US Army Short Range Reconnaissance program drone. A hand-launched, foldable Group-1 quadcopter for single-operator short-range reconnaissance, it carries a Teledyne FLIR Hadron 640R+ electro-optical/infrared payload, an AES-256 frequency-hopping Doodle Labs radio, and a Qualcomm RB5 AI-capable compute module running FLIR's Prism AI stack, with about 45 minutes of endurance and roughly five miles of link range. It is primarily a manually piloted ISR drone with assistive autonomy such as forward obstacle avoidance and a radio-off stealth mode, so the registry frames any autonomous-drone characterization as an overclaim. Its load-bearing fact is verified: the Black Widow won the US Army Short Range Reconnaissance Program of Record in a production selection announced November 19, 2024, displacing the incumbent Skydio. The registry cap-flags the contract scope, however: the actual low-rate initial production contract is about 12.9 million dollars per a US Army FOIA disclosure rather than the larger figures used in management framing, and the often-cited 5,880-systems number is the Army's stated five-year objective, explicitly subject to change, not an obligated quantity, with a reported Tranche 2 expansion to about 35 million dollars. The common framing of the Black Widow as a Black Hornet alternative is corrected here: it is a different and larger class than Teledyne FLIR's roughly 70-gram Black Hornet nano-UAV and replaced Skydio on the platoon-level SRR program rather than replacing the Black Hornet. Red Cat is a cash-burning small-cap reliant on dilutive financing, with fiscal-year 2025 revenue of 40.7 million dollars driven by SRR deliveries against a 72.1 million dollar net loss, and the registry records the maturity as low-rate production.","identifier":"b3dee150-2b41-4bf8-bd47-817185b78938","category":"aerial","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":"production","lifecycle_state":"active","architectural_position":{"cohort":"aerial","sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":7,"primary_source_types":["primary-company-ir","primary-sec-filing","secondary-trade-publication"]}}}