U.S. Army Selects Vantage Robotics' Vesper to Advance in the Short Range Reconnaissance Program

Vantage Robotics, a Veteran Ventures Capital Fund I portfolio company and maker of U.S.-built drones and enabling technologies for mission-critical operations, announced on August 14 that the U.S. Army selected its Vesper to advance to the Manufacturing Readiness Assessment phase of the next-generation platoon-level Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) program.

The Army conducted competitive fly-off evaluations earlier in the month and, in an August 10 release, named five vendors advancing to manufacturing readiness assessments: Parrot, Skydio, Skycutter, Teal Drones and Vantage Robotics. The evaluations assessed range, endurance, frequency agility, imaging, autonomy, portability and ease of use.

"We were thrilled to see our team's hard work over the last seven years, creating and refining Vesper, shine during these trials," the company said in its announcement, adding that it is preparing to scale production for military deployment.

Vesper is a small, quiet, U.S.-made reconnaissance drone designed for tactical operators, and the SRR program is the Army's path to fielding platoon-level reconnaissance systems at scale. Vantage Robotics is based in San Leandro, California. Veteran Ventures Capital invested in the company through Fund I.

Sources: Vantage Robotics; DVIDS; Inside Unmanned Systems.

Photo: U.S. Army via DVIDS