Skydio selected for final integration in the US Army Short Range Reconnaissance Program.

Skydio, US drone manufacturer, announced the US Army elected to continue with the Skydio X2D SRR system to complete remaining integration and documentation requirements within the Other Transaction Agreement Prototype Phase. The SRR program, managed by the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Aviation’s Project Manager for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (PM UAS) located in Huntsville, Alabama, aims to equip Soldiers with a rapidly deployable small UAS solution to conduct Reconnaissance and Surveillance (R&S) activities.

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Skydio X2D (Picture source: Skydio)

The Army decided to continue with Skydio for final integration activities based upon extensive testing and evaluation. The evaluation of the candidate prototypes focused on an assessment against the Performance-Specification during the Limited User Test coordinated by U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) and several Limited Objective Experiments. Soldier feedback and design review packages were used to assess the overall product performance, quality, as well as readiness to scale production. While the Army’s decision represents a strong step forward, it does not constitute full completion of the Other Transaction Authority (OTA) project nor does it guarantee a follow-on production award.

“We are proud to have been selected by the U.S. Army for the final integration in the SRR program.” said Adam Bry, Skydio CEO. “The Army has done incredible work to ensure our soldiers have access to cutting edge drone technology. This milestone is the result of years of research and development in autonomous flight and core technologies. It is a testament to the breakthrough capabilities of the Skydio X2D and our world-class team.”

Skydio X2D is the ultimate solution for military and defense customers to perform reconnaissance, search and rescue, and security patrol missions. Skydio X2D pairs Skydio Autonomy, the world’s leading AI-driven flight autonomy software, with a foldable, highly portable airframe that leverages hyper-strength composites to withstand the most demanding environments. X2 features a dual 12MP color optical plus 320x256 FLIR thermal sensor, and is equipped with GPS-based night flight and strobe lighting, making it ready for both day and night operations, while providing up to 35 min of flight time on a single battery. Designed, assembled, and supported in the USA, X2D complies with the NDAA’s rigorous supply chain security requirements and offers superior cybersecurity protection.

“Access to accurate, timely information on the battlefield is a critical determining factor for mission success,” said Chuck McGraw, Skydio Director of Federal Sales. “Drones are powerful situational awareness tools for organic unit-level ISR, but legacy manual solutions are difficult to fly and easy to crash. With its unmatched AI-powered autonomy, Skydio X2D represents the next step in the evolution of small unmanned aircraft systems for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) to reduce cognitive overload by unlocking the simplest and most effective flight experience.”