Hoverfly Technologies gets $10M US Government tethered drone contract.

Hoverfly Technologies Inc. (“Hoverfly”), the manufacturer of the LiveSky tethered drone, announced today that it has been awarded a $10 million sole-source contract by a U.S. government agency. LiveSky provides aerial monitoring and communications relay solutions for national defense, intelligence, and homeland security customers.

Livesky SENTRY (Picture source: Hoverfly)

The sole-source contract has an initial ceiling value of $10 million and a five-year period of performance, including four one-year options. Hoverfly will deliver both the LiveSky Dismounted and LiveSky SkyBox configurations, as well as installation, training, and support services. Deliveries to the U.S. government under the new federal contract begin in November 2019.

The LiveSky is a tactical and mobile ISR and communication relay system that delivers full-motion 24-hour day/night video using Hoverfly’s Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) sensor payload. LiveSky provides four simultaneous full-motion video streams that can be viewed locally, over networks, or by operators with mobile devices using the popular Tactical Awareness Kit (TAK). LiveSky also provides communication relay solutions using Persistent Systems WaveRelay, Silvus, TrellisWare, goTenna, and other tactical radios.

“Hoverfly is honored to have been selected to provide U.S. government operators with enhanced situational-awareness, force-protection, and communications-relay capability in this light-weight, low-power, and rapidly deployable solution,” said Rob Topping, CEO of Hoverfly. “This important new technology means that our customers can reduce the user burden and operational complexity of aerostats, plus get enhanced mobility when compared to fixed and heavy telescoping mast-based systems."

Based on U.S. government data, Hoverfly’s new contract is the largest U.S. government contract awarded for tethered drones to date. Tethered drones are a new capability to improve tactical and mobile ISR and communications from both manned and unmanned systems. Recent interest in tethered drones by large military vehicle OEMs is, in part, driven by procurement requirements of the U.S. Army’s Remote Combat Vehicle (RCV) program. The RCV program requires tethered drones, like the LiveSky, as a sensor and communications payload for new combat vehicles being considered for procurement.