According to the Dynamics website Theater, the U.S. Army has chosen U.S. drone manufacturer Skydio as its Short-Range Reconnaissance (SRR) program, which aims to deploy a low-cost, rapidly deployable reconnaissance drone that can be carried by individual soldiers. In the past, commercially available off-the-shelf drones have been used in these roles, but in recent years, business security concerns about the use of foreign-made drones have led the U.S. government to limit the use of drone technology from countries deemed hostile. With the acquisition of advanced drones made in the United States, small portable drones have the potential to become standard equipment for the entire service!
Skydio said the X2D offers up to 35 minutes of flight time, can operate during the day or night, and is equipped with artificial intelligence tools that can avoid obstacles 360 degrees and perform "object detection" on people and vehicles. According to the company's website, Skydio's drones have collapsible carbon fiber and a magnesium frame that can be deployed in less than 75 seconds. The X2D is equipped with a 4K camera with 16x digital zoom and a forward-looking infrared camera. Other sensors can 3D scan the drone's environment and implement "automatic scene reconstruction," presumably meaning the drone can create a 3D rendering of its travel environment. Skydio's quadcopters are also capable of autonomous Overwatch, in which they orbit points of interest, providing real-time overhead reconnaissance.
