Teal Black Widow

The Teal Black Widow is a soldier-borne ISR rucksack quadcopter from Teal Drones, a subsidiary of Red Cat Holdings (NASDAQ: RCAT). It is a hand-launched, foldable Group-1 quadcopter for single-operator short-range reconnaissance, carrying a Teledyne FLIR Hadron 640R+ EO/IR payload, an AES-256 frequency-hopping 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 military procurement, not a consumer product, so there is no consumer price. Several aggregator framings are corrected here. The product is the Teal Black Widow, not 'Teal 2'. Its load-bearing fact is verified: the Black Widow won the US Army Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) Program of Record in a production selection announced November 19, 2024, displacing the incumbent Skydio. But the scope is cap-flagged: the actual low-rate initial production contract is about $12.9M per a US Army FOIA disclosure, not the larger management-framing figures, and the often-cited 5,880-systems number is the Army's stated five-year objective (explicitly subject to change), not an obligated quantity. The common 'Black Hornet alternative' framing is also incorrect: the Black Widow is a different and larger class than Teledyne FLIR's roughly 70-gram Black Hornet nano-UAV, and it replaced Skydio on the platoon-level SRR program rather than the Black Hornet. On autonomy, it is primarily a manually piloted ISR drone with assistive autonomy (forward obstacle avoidance, FLIR Prism, a radio-off stealth mode), so any 'autonomous drone' characterization is an overclaim. The registry records it at low-rate production maturity; Red Cat is a cash-burning small-cap reliant on dilutive financing.

Readiness

Teal Black Widow is internal use only (not for retail), no capability claims are on file, 1 verified deployment is on file, and no incidents are on record.

Availability

internal-only

Internal use only (not for retail).

see evidence →

Price honesty

no-price

No price points on file for Teal Black Widow.

see evidence →

Capability honesty

no-claims

No reviewed capability claims on file for Teal Black Widow.

see evidence →

Real-world use

production

Maturity: production. 1 verified deployment in the registry.

see evidence →

Safety record

no-incidents

No incidents on record. 1 verified deployment on file.

What it claims to do

No reviewed capability claims on file.

Price

No reviewed price points on file.

Real-world use

• Salt Lake City operated by Red Cat Holdings

Safety record

No incidents on record. 1 verified deployment on file.

Privacy

No privacy practices disclosed or on file for Teal Black Widow.

Specs

notes

• SRR program-of-record (verified) + scope correction (cap-flag): 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.
• 'Black Hornet alternative' framing CORRECTED: 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.
• Autonomy posture (cap-flag): 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.
• Corporate / financial state: 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.
• Documented exclusion (unverified short-seller claim): 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)

What's under the hood

No brain on file for Teal Black Widow.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Teal Black Widow actually available for purchase?

Not available to consumers. In internal use by Red Cat Holdings.Source: Red Cat: production selection for US Army SRR program (Nov 19 2024; Black Widow; objective 5,880 systems)

What does the Teal Black Widow cost?

Not announced.

Where is the Teal Black Widow being used?

Teal Black Widow is in use at: Salt Lake City operated by Red Cat Holdings.Source: Red Cat Holdings

Is the Teal Black Widow safe?

No incidents on record across 1 verified deployment.

How does the Teal Black Widow handle privacy?

No privacy practices disclosed or on file for Teal Black Widow.

Who makes the Teal Black Widow?

Teal Black Widow is made by Red Cat Holdings, based in Puerto Rico.Source: Red Cat: production selection for US Army SRR program (Nov 19 2024; Black Widow; objective 5,880 systems)

Video

Compare side by side

• Teal Black Widow vs Vector (and Trinity)by Quantum Systems · aerial
• Teal Black Widow vs Skydio X10by Skydio · aerial
• Teal Black Widow vs Parrot ANAFI Aiby Parrot · aerial

Sources

1. Red Cat: production selection for US Army SRR program (Nov 19 2024; Black Widow; objective 5,880 systems) · https://ir.redcatholdings.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/160/red-cat-announces-production-selection-for-u-s-army-short-range-reconnaissance-program ↗
2. Red Cat wins US Army SRR contract over Skydio (program-of-record; FLIR Prism AI) · https://www.therobotreport.com/red-cat-wins-u-s-army-next-gen-drone-contract-over-skydio/ ↗
3. Red Cat SRR: LRIP vs full-rate-production distinction; FY26 ramp framing · https://www.aviationtoday.com/2025/08/07/red-cat-expects-lrip-order-soon-for-armys-srr-small-drone-aggressive-ramp-up-in-fy-26/ ↗
4. Black Widow + Edge 130 selected as Blue UAS Refresh winners (Feb 24 2025) · 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 ↗
5. Red Cat Holdings Form 10-K FY2025 (rev $40.7M +161% from SRR deliveries; net loss $72.1M; going-concern resolved via 2025 raises) · https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000748268/000162828026019861/rcat-20251231.htm ↗
6. Black Widow approved for NATO NSPA catalogue (Sept 2025; listing != orders) · 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 ↗
7. Short-biased counter-source (holds RCAT short): Army FOIA shows SRR LRIP ~$12.9M, smaller than management framing · https://fuzzypandaresearch.com/rcat-army-contract-smaller-than-claimed/ ↗
8. Red Cat official YouTube (@TealDrones), embedded under standard YouTube embed terms. oEmbed author_url verified 2026-06-04. · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcQ_xmA1yDQ ↗ · 2026-06-04
9. Red Cat Holdings · https://www.redcatrad.com/ ↗