Though its owner Red Cat Holdings has been steadily recentering its UAV operations on hardcore defense applications and clients over the past year, Teal Drones continues to find buyers of its tactical craft from non-military organizations as well – most recently the North Carolina Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.
Created in 1941, the Civil Air Patrol has many state chapters whose congressional mandate entrusts them with operating aerial activities covering emergency services, cadet training, and aerospace education. Many of those groups are involved with assisting public agency search and rescue, post-disaster responses, and other missions – civilian-side activities for which the North Carolina Wing will now operate cutting-edge Teal 2 drones.
Read: Teal drones to be equipped with Immervision sensors for low-light data collection missions
The group arranged procurement of the craft in cooperation with the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management. Under that accord, North Carolina Wing officials received 10 Teal 2 drones that US Customs and Border Protection and armed forces have already begun using in larger numbers.
In addition to expanded capabilities over the company’s earlier Golden Eagle craft, the new Teal 2 UAVs pack tech allowing effective operation in light deprived environments – inspiring its tagline promise to “Dominate the Night.”
Its fleet of new Teal 2 drones will permit the North Carolina Wing to operate parallel or support missions to various kinds of official emergency interventions, including during the night when most UAVs are rendered ineffective due to lack of light.
“This is an exciting time for the NC Wing,” said Capt. Ralph Newcomb, its assistant director of operations for UAVs. “We now have the high-quality drones that we need to adequately work in partnership with NC Emergency Management to assist the citizens across NC and neighboring states when needed for any request, from search and rescue to post disaster assessments.”
Delivery of the Teal 2 drones to the North Carolina Wing occurred during the same month Red Cat announced it was delivering high-speed, long-endurance UAVs to Ukraine – and reiterated its desire to supply Kyiv with its smaller, specialized night-vision craft as well.
Read more: Red Cat sending 200 fast, long-range Teal FPV drones to Ukraine
That – in addition to its moves to increase business with US security and military agencies – comes in the wake of Red Cat’s decision last year to divest from FPV and other consumer activities it had in order to focus entirely on defense activities.
The most recent development in that shift was the introduction last month of the Teal 2 drone.
The compact, portable craft is powered by a Snapdragon 845 processor, and is the first drone to be equipped with Teledyne FLIR’s new Hadron 640R sensor. That unit provides what Teal calls the highest resolution thermal imaging in a Group 1 UAV, enabling optimized nighttime operations.
The 2.75 lb. Teal 2 boasts a maximum flight speed of 22 mph and airborne capacity of 30 minutes, as well as an array of specialized tech for machine-learning capabilities and high-speed tracking of objects. According to Teal Drones founder George Matus, that small but powerful aerial package can now assist the North Carolina Wing to fly even more effective civil assistance missions.
“Teal 2 is the world’s leading military-grade sUAS for night operations,” Matus said. “Our partnership with NCWG is a great example of how technology developed for military purposes can also be used for civilian purposes – helping to keep Americans safe at home.”
Capt. Robert Rimmer, North Carolina Wing’s director of UAV operations, went even further in welcoming the new craft to the group’s fleet, stating its “program grew by leaps and bounds this weekend with the introduction of the Teal 2 drones.”
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