Red Cat Holdings (NASDAQ: RCAT) said on July 30, 2026 its Teal Drones subsidiary has been awarded a $2.49 million firm-fixed-price contract from the U.S. Air Force for Black Widow small unmanned aircraft systems. The order will support a technical and operational assessment by the U.S. Air Force Security Forces Center (AFSFC) of Black Widow as a potential successor to the AFSFC's existing Teal 2 fleet.
What The Contract Includes
The award covers Black Widow airframes, batteries, spare parts, shipping and train-the-trainer support, with delivery of the systems and associated equipment due by August 24, 2026. Red Cat said the AFSFC trains, equips and manages program execution for the Air Force Security Forces enterprise worldwide, including active-duty personnel, the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve, giving the assessment reach across the full Security Forces community rather than a single unit or wing.
An Air Force Follow-On To The Army SRR Selection
Red Cat said the Air Force evaluation follows the U.S. Army's selection of Black Widow earlier this year as the aircraft for its Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) Program. That win, disclosed in mid-2025 and steadily worked into production this year, is what put the Salt Lake City-built platform on the shortlist for other services looking to move beyond the current generation of small quadcopters. "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 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."
Why It Matters For Base Defense
Small drones have quietly become one of the most-used pieces of gear on U.S. bases, both as sensors for perimeter security and as adversary surrogates during counter-UAS training. Replacing the Teal 2 fleet, which was itself a Blue UAS-certified DoD-standard aircraft, is a big-ticket refresh across dozens of installations if Black Widow clears the assessment. Red Cat has been leaning into that opportunity: its Hellcat sUAS unveiled at Eurosatory 2026 layered lessons from Ukraine onto the Black Widow's short-range reconnaissance DNA, and the company has repeatedly framed U.S.-made secure supply chains as its main competitive wedge against foreign-manufactured commercial drones.
Fits A Broader Pentagon Push On Base-Defense Drones
The AFSFC evaluation lands as the Pentagon steps up funding for base-defense small drones and counter-UAS packages. Recent contracts including the Army's $117M AeroVironment P550 buy and the Pentagon's SWAP-USV push for robot boats and attack drones show a Department of War increasingly willing to spend on cheap, American-made autonomy on shortened acquisition timelines.
Reporting based on coverage from UASweekly, Red Cat Holdings investor relations, Benzinga, and UAS Magazine.