American Red Cat drones to be equipped with communication and navigation systems from Ukrainian Sine Engineering

American defense company Red Cat Holdings has entered a strategic partnership with Ukrainian Sine Engineering, which develops communication and navigation systems for drones.

The companies announced this.

The companies plan to integrate the Ukrainian technologies into Red Cat’s aerial and maritime drones so they can operate without GPS and under electronic warfare conditions.

What the Red Cat and Sine Engineering cooperation entails

The companies plan to use Sine Engineering’s technologies in the maritime drones of the Blue Ops unit and in Red Cat Aerial’s airborne drones.

This involves communication systems, video and data transmission, remote control and GPS-denied navigation. They are intended to help drones maintain contact with operators and determine their location even amid interference.

Initially, the partners will focus on maritime drones and the equipment that provides connectivity between them. In particular, the companies plan to test the technologies on uncrewed boats, buoys, lighthouses and other network elements.

In the long term, this will allow maritime and aerial drones to be combined into a single network for joint mission execution. Red Cat is considering such solutions for operations in sea areas with many islands and other territories located at significant distances from each other.

At the same time, the companies’ cooperation began before signing the memorandum. Red Cat said it is already conducting integration and field work with Sine Engineering’s technologies.

Specifically, the American company used the Ukrainian developer’s solution in its Hellcat drone while operating in Ukraine. Red Cat notes that this integration played an important role in the platform’s performance.

According to Red Cat CEO Jeff Thompson, Ukraine has become one of the main testing grounds for communication technologies for drones and electronic warfare tools. The company wants to combine Ukrainian developments that have already been tested in combat conditions with its own unmanned platforms.

The memorandum foresees a non-exclusive partnership, so the companies can also work with other developers. Primarily, Red Cat and Sine Engineering are targeting defense customers in the US, Ukraine and other allied countries.

The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the cooperation, the volume of future supplies or the integration timeline.

Recall that at the end of October Sine Engineering and Finnish Insta Defence & Aviation signed a partnership and will jointly develop communication and navigation systems for drones. The partners plan to accelerate testing of new technologies and their integration with various unmanned platforms.

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