Red Cat Holdings has been awarded a US$2.49 million firm-fixed-price contract by the U.S. Air Force to supply its Black Widow small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), along with training and related support, for technical and operational assessment.
The contract includes Black Widow systems, train-the-trainer support, batteries, spare parts and shipping. The systems will be evaluated as a potential successor to the Air Force Security Forces’ existing Teal 2 fleet.
The assessment will be conducted by the U.S. Air Force Security Forces Center (AFSFC), which is responsible for training, equipping and managing programme execution for the Air Force Security Forces across active-duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units. The evaluation follows Red Cat’s selection by the U.S. Army for its Short Range Reconnaissance programme and could support future fleet replacement across the AFSFC.
“We are proud to support the U.S. Air Force across active-duty, Air National Guard, and reservists, as the AFSFC evaluates Black Widow for missions at the tactical edge,” said Jeff Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Red Cat. “This assessment of the Black Widow reflects growing recognition across the Department of War that secure, American-made systems are essential for the operations our national defense and security organizations carry out every day.”
Black Widow is Red Cat’s flagship short-range reconnaissance platform, designed to provide rapidly deployable intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities for military operations.
The contract calls for delivery of the systems by 24 August 2026.
