Short Range Reconnaissance
US Army programme of record for platoon-level reconnaissance quadcopters; Skydio and Red Cat selected.
Last refreshed: 30 March 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why is every US Army platoon getting its own reconnaissance drone?
Timeline for Short Range Reconnaissance
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Drones: Industry & DefenceWhat is the Army's SRR drone programme?
Which company makes the Army's small reconnaissance drone?
How fast was the $52 million Skydio order?
Background
The Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) programme is the US Army's first programme of record for small quadcopter drones at platoon level, requiring a system under five pounds with at least 30 minutes of flight time. Red Cat Holdings was selected as a Tranche 2 finalist alongside Skydio, which won both Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 production contracts.
Tranche 1 fielding began in September 2022 with Skydio's platform, reaching over 16 brigades by early 2026. Tranche 2 incorporates battlefield feedback into updated requirements. In March 2026, the Army placed a $52 million order with Skydio in just 72 hours, the fastest drone procurement in Army history.
SRR is central to the Army's Transformation in Contact (TiC) doctrine, which embeds networked reconnaissance drones as standard platoon equipment rather than specialist attachments. The programme's multi-vendor approach deliberately maintains competition to drive costs down.