The US Army has awarded a contract to Canadian UAV manufacturer Draganfly Inc. to supply its new Flex First-Person View (FPV) drone systems. The move signals a growing institutional interest in low-cost, modular unmanned aerial platforms that can perform both reconnaissance and kinetic roles in contested environments. The Flex platform is designed for rapid deployment and attritable operations—aligning with evolving battlefield requirements shaped by lessons from Ukraine and other conflict zones.
Draganfly’s Flex FPV System: Specs and Capabilities
The Draganfly Flex is a compact quadcopter-style FPV drone weighing under 1 kg and designed for short-range tactical missions. While exact specifications remain limited due to operational sensitivities, available data indicates the following key features:
- Flight Time: Approximately 20–25 minutes depending on payload
- Range: Up to 5 km LOS (line-of-sight), with encrypted digital video transmission
- Payload Options: Modular bay supporting EO/IR sensors or small munitions
- Control Mode: Manual pilot via FPV goggles or semi-autonomous waypoint navigation
- Speed: Estimated max speed of ~80–100 km/h
The system is intended to be highly customizable and field-configurable. It can be equipped with ISR payloads such as HD cameras or thermal imagers for target acquisition or battlefield surveillance. Alternatively, it may carry small explosive charges—essentially functioning as a loitering munition or kamikaze drone.
A Shift Toward Attritable Tactical Drones
The selection of the Flex system reflects the Pentagon’s increasing emphasis on attritable unmanned systems—drones that are inexpensive enough to be lost in combat without strategic consequence. This philosophy has gained traction following extensive use of FPV drones by Ukrainian forces against Russian armor and infantry formations.
The US Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) has been exploring various commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions that can be rapidly fielded at scale. The goal is not only affordability but also adaptability: units should be able to modify drones in the field based on mission needs.
This approach aligns with broader Department of Defense initiatives like Replicator—a DARPA-inspired program aimed at deploying thousands of autonomous systems across multiple domains within two years. While Replicator focuses more heavily on autonomy and swarming AI, the Draganfly Flex represents an immediate step toward scalable tactical UAS capability.
Operational Context: Lessons from Ukraine Inform Procurement Strategy
The war in Ukraine has dramatically reshaped Western military thinking about small drones. Ukrainian forces have demonstrated how $500–$1,000 FPV drones equipped with improvised warheads can destroy tanks worth millions of dollars—and do so repeatedly at scale.
This asymmetric cost-effectiveness has not gone unnoticed by NATO militaries. In response, several Western armies—including the UK’s British Army and Germany’s Bundeswehr—have launched urgent procurement programs for similar systems. The US Army’s adoption of the Draganfly Flex fits this trend.
Moreover, the use of swarm tactics—where dozens of small drones saturate an area simultaneously—is being actively studied by US combat labs such as DEVCOM ARL (Army Research Lab) and SOCOM’s Technical Experimentation program. While the current iteration of the Flex does not yet feature full autonomous swarming capabilities, its modular architecture could support such upgrades in future variants.
COTS Meets MILSPEC: Bridging Commercial Innovation with Military Rigor
A key advantage touted by Draganfly is its ability to rapidly iterate designs using commercial components while still meeting military-grade reliability standards. The company claims that the Flex drone incorporates ruggedized frames and secure comms links hardened against jamming—a critical requirement given rising electronic warfare threats.
This hybrid COTS-MILSPEC model allows faster prototyping cycles compared to traditional defense primes while maintaining compliance with operational needs such as electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), GPS-denied navigation options (e.g., visual odometry), and encrypted telemetry links.
The contract also includes training packages for operators and maintainers as well as integration support into existing command-and-control networks—a vital step toward ensuring interoperability across echelons down to squad level.
Procurement Scope and Future Outlook
No financial details or unit quantities were disclosed in initial announcements; however, sources familiar with the matter suggest this is part of a limited acquisition under an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement rather than a full-scale production contract at this stage.
If successful in operational testing—including upcoming trials at Fort Liberty’s Joint Readiness Training Center—the program could expand into broader procurement phases under Program Executive Office Aviation or PEO Soldier portfolios.
This would position Draganfly among a growing ecosystem of non-traditional defense suppliers contributing agile hardware solutions tailored for near-peer conflict scenarios where massed precision fires—and counter-UAS capabilities—dominate operational planning.
Conclusion: Tactical Drones Enter Mainstream Force Structure
The US Army’s selection of Draganfly’s Flex platform underscores how rapidly tactical UAS are becoming integral parts of modern force structures—not just as ISR assets but also as expendable strike tools. As peer adversaries develop layered defenses against larger UAVs like MQ-9 Reapers or Gray Eagles, smaller systems like the Flex offer survivability through numbers and unpredictability through flexibility.
If integrated effectively into combined arms doctrine—with appropriate EW hardening, logistics support, and operator training—the emergence of these lightweight attritable drones could reshape infantry-level engagements across future battlefields from Eastern Europe to Indo-Pacific theaters.
