Parrot has reached the final stage of the selection process in the United States Army’s Short-Range Reconnaissance UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) program. The company is due to participate in an operational assessment to support an Army production award decision, and will start manufacturing prototypes of its drone solution for the Army in anticipation of increase demand by the Department of Defense.
Parrot, along with five other commercial UAV manufacturers, was previously selected by the U.S. Army and the Defense Innovation Unit to develop prototype drones for the Short-Range Reconnaissance program for military use. Parrot focused the company’s Paris-based research and development efforts toward engineering a drone dedicated to the U.S. Army specifications. Following finalization of the prototype unit, the initial testing phase proved successful and encouraged Parrot to begin exploring the industrialization phase.
The mature prototype, designed with carefully selected components, has now been approved for initial manufacturing. Parrot is currently finalizing its U.S. production chain with its partner NEOTech to build its final prototype batch for delivery to the U.S. Army and the Defense Innovation Unit. With over 40 years of heritage in electronics manufacturing, NEOTech specializes in high-reliability programs primarily in the aerospace and defense industry, medical products, and high-tech industrial markets.
The final prototype assembly includes the installation at NEOTech’s facility of all software developed by Parrot in Paris, ensuring high IP protection with no data dissemination.
Laurent Rouchon, VP Security & Defense at Parrot, commented: “Parrot is honored to work with the DoD on this highly strategic project. We have successfully met the high standards set over the last 12 months on the prototype efforts and we look forward to entering this final phase and launching production in the USA.”
