Why did the U.S. military pick this small Utah company for drones?

I just saw that the U.S. military chose a lesser-known supplier from Utah for their drone program. Anyone know why they went with this company? It seems like a big deal, but there’s not much info on why they were picked.

So they’re spending $260 million for 11,700 drones? That’s about $22,222 per drone. Is that normal for this kind of tech?

Emory said:
So they’re spending $260 million for 11,700 drones? That’s about $22,222 per drone. Is that normal for this kind of tech?

It doesn’t sound like they’re really focusing on the idea of drones being cheap and disposable. For comparison, the military pays about $500 for an automatic M4 rifle. For the price of one drone, you could buy 40 rifles.

@Kai
Did the article mention how much of that cost is for research and development versus actual manufacturing? Even so, it still feels like they might’ve overpaid.

I’ve got to admit, their ground control station looks really slick.

Here’s a link to the Forbes profile of George Matus: George Matus

Clair said:
Here’s a link to the Forbes profile of George Matus: George Matus

That’s pretty interesting. As much as I like my DJI, it’d be great to see an American company make a solid, affordable alternative. You know, without lobbying or monopolizing the market.

Rotor Riot, Fat Shark, and Teal Drones are all owned by the Red Cat holding company.

There was a lot of drama a while back about how buying from Rotor Riot meant you were supporting drones being used as weapons. It came up again recently when Bardwell mentioned his new Rotor Riot drone. Some folks thought we were supposed to stop buying their stuff. Guess I’ll stick with Grinderino.

I’ve used their products before, and they work pretty well in different conditions. Seems like a solid choice overall.