Eurosatory 2026: Red Cat eyes South American market for USV-led EEZ surveillance

Red Cat’s rise from a drone-racing startup to a defence technology company with ambitions across air, maritime, space and cyber domains reflects a wider shift taking place across the defence industry.

The company secured a boost in credibility when its Black Widow system was selected for the US Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) programme, a contract that executives said has accelerated interest from NATO, Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern customers.

Yet during Eurosatory 2026, Red Cat officials spent as much time discussing uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) as aerial drones, highlighting the notion that the maritime domain could become the next growth market for autonomous systems.

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“We made a conscious decision about four years ago to develop a true battlefield ecosystem,” Stan Nowak, VP of marketing at Red Cat, told Shephard. “Air, sea and land. We do not do everything in a bubble. We are very much about partnerships.”

US Army success drives international interest

The Black Widow platform has underpinned Red Cat’s growing international profile. The US Army selected Black Widow for its SRR programme, providing what Nowak described as substantial “street credibility” among international customers.

Interest has subsequently expanded beyond North America, according to the company. NATO countries remained a key focus, explained Nowak, while Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern customers were increasingly evaluating the system.

“Obviously NATO, we are on the NSPA catalogue with Black Widow,” he said. “I would say the next two after that would be APAC and Middle East.”

Red Cat has already disclosed a contract in Japan, which executives described as a potential gateway into wider Asia-Pacific opportunities. Local industrial participation is becoming increasingly important in those discussions.

“A lot of these countries want to have at least a percentage of the technology homegrown or assembled there,” Nowak explained.

The company’s partnerships, including its use of Samsung display technology, are helping support localisation requirements in markets such as South Korea. Operational lessons from Ukraine have also informed product development.

Nowak said Red Cat personnel had regularly visited Ukraine to understand evolving battlefield requirements and electronic warfare challenges.

“There is so much cat-and-mouse game happening,” he said. “Unless you are there every single day, you could really fall behind.”

Maritime market enters ‘year one’

While aerial drone markets are becoming increasingly crowded, Red Cat sees maritime autonomy as a sector still in its infancy. That opportunity is being pursued through BlueOps, the company’s maritime subsidiary led by president Barry Hinckley.

“The world is three-quarters ocean,” Hinckley told Shephard. “Many of the areas that the US and its allies are interested in are surrounded by water, and you cannot get there with a road.”

BlueOps is developing a family of USVs that it believes could offer a lower-cost alternative to traditional naval platforms for surveillance and maritime security. According to Hinckley, the market remains significantly underdeveloped.

“The world needs tens of thousands of these,” he said. “There are only hundreds floating around today.”

BlueOps revealed in May 2026 that it was moving into full-rate production of its Variant 7 USV, which is designed, built and assembled in the US “for US and allied defence missions”.

The company expects to unveil a new 5m platform and an 8m catamaran USV later in 2026. Hinckley argued that naval adoption of autonomous systems remains at the beginning of a longer procurement cycle.

“I would say we are in the first year of the real cycle,” he said. “A couple of players have been in it for a few years, but it was not really considered a viable market until the actions in Ukraine.”

Validation came first from the Black Sea, and later from developments around the Strait of Hormuz, he added.

“When they got validated in the Strait of Hormuz, that was kind of like, ‘It is on’.”

South America emerges as a target market

One of the more notable areas of focus identified by BlueOps is South America.

Rather than concentrating solely on large Western naval powers, executives pointed towards countries with extensive coastlines but limited budgets for major surface combatants. Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico were all highlighted as potential future operators.

“Large countries that are allies with small budgets can now get legitimately in the game of coastal protection,” Hinckley said.

The concept is particularly relevant as regional governments attempt to monitor illegal fishing and maritime incursions across vast exclusive economic zones (EEZs). Nowak described discussions with Chilean officials regarding the use of USVs for maritime surveillance and fisheries protection. China’s distant-water fishing fleet has become an increasing concern for several South American nations.

“There is a lot of illegal fishing that happens,” Nowak said. “They do not have the infrastructure or manpower to inspect every single boat.”

BlueOps believes autonomous vessels could provide a cost-effective solution. Under the concept described by executives, a distributed network of USVs could patrol coastlines and identify suspect vessels without requiring large numbers of personnel.

“It is not necessarily about engagement,” Nowak said. “It is about finding out what that vessel is.”

Red Cat’s maritime ambitions have been influenced by lessons emerging from Ukraine. In March, the company announced a partnership with Ukrainian state defence enterprise SpetsTechnoExport. The arrangement is designed to provide BlueOps with access to operational knowledge while allowing support for Ukrainian development efforts.

“It is an exchange of support for knowledge,” Hinckley explained.

The relationship is particularly notable because SpetsTechnoExport has been closely associated with the development of Ukraine’s Magura family of USVs; platforms which have become one of the most significant examples of asymmetrical naval warfare during the conflict.

According to analysis from the US Naval Institute, Magura USVs became the first naval drones to sink an enemy warship in combat and have played a major role in degrading Russian naval operations in the Black Sea.

Related Programmes in Defence Insight

Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) (Tranche 2) / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) [USA]

Related Equipment in Defence Insight

Variant 7

Black Widow