Palladyne AI and Red Cat demonstrate autonomous, collaborative multi-UAV operations

Palladyne AI, a developer of artificial intelligence (AI) software for robotic platforms, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) specialist Red Cat Holdings announced on 1 May 2025 they had successfully completed an autonomous, cross-platform collaborative flight involving three UAVs.

During this most recent test, which leveraged Red Cat’s Teal 2 and Black Widow quadcopter UAVs and the Palladyne Pilot AI software, each platform operated using onboard edge computing and constrained communication protocols without reliance on centralised infrastructure to communicate. The system enabled real-time, distributed detection and tracking of multiple dynamic and static ground objects – including humans and vehicles – in different regions of interest, providing a single operator with comprehensive situational awareness.

The two companies previously announced a successful two-UAV flight operation in January 2025, while Palladyne AI announced a single-UAV test scenario in December 2024 to autonomously identify, prioritise and track terrestrial targets.

The Palladyne Pilot AI software platform transforms tactical UAVs into highly efficient autonomous force multipliers capable of persistent target tracking, dynamic collaboration and enhanced situational awareness.

“With advanced perception, learning and autonomous capabilities designed to reduce operational burden while dramatically improving mission effectiveness for military and defence operations, Palladyne Pilot stands ready to support and deliver mission effectiveness and success,” the company stated.

The development and continued advancement of Palladyne Pilot is the result of multiple contracts with the US Air Force.

“This new testing milestone represents significant progress in our joint mission with Red Cat to enable multi-drone interoperability and autonomous collaboration for the defense sector,” Matt Vogt, chief revenue officer at Palladyne AI, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “We are proud to have successfully completed this three-drone flight and believe our joint, cross-platform, autonomous solution will be a game changer for US military personnel and drone operators. With this major step forward, we are excited about what Palladyne Pilot will bring to our government and defense customers as well as to our target non-defense civil customer base.”

“Successfully expanding from single to three-drone operations reflects not only the reliability of our drones and Palladyne’s AI software, but also the capability of onboard systems to independently handle complex missions,” added Geoff Hitchcock, chief revenue officer of Red Cat. “For warfighters, this provides greater situational awareness while requiring fewer operators in the field to manage multiple assets. This latest test is a meaningful step toward making multiple, collaborative autonomous systems more practical and effective in real-world defense scenarios.”