Skydio Nabs Army Short-Range Drone Contract

U.S. drone manufacturer Skydio on Tuesday said it won a potential $99.8 million Army contract to provide its backpackable X2D quadcopter unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for the Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) program.

The base value of the five-year contract is for $20.2 million. California-based Skydio said they were the only company selected for the SRR program out of five finalists.

The Army’s solicitation last November said the SRR “is intended to be an inexpensive, rucksack portable, vertical take-off and landing small unmanned aircraft that provides the platoon with a rapidly deployable intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability to provide situational awareness beyond the next terrain feature.”

The X2D can fly up to 35 minutes on a single battery, features a foldable, composite airframe, dual-color optical thermal sensors, and GPS-based night flight and strobe lighting. The small UAS also pairs with Skydio’s artificial intelligence flight…