U.S. Army Awards $10.64M Contract for Ukraine’s Combat-Proven Raybird Reconnaissance Drone.

The U.S. Army has awarded Skyeton Inc. a $10.64 million contract for Raybird unmanned aerial system hardware and services, bringing a Ukrainian-origin reconnaissance drone with up to 24 hours of endurance and a 2,500 km maximum flight range into a formal U.S. acquisition effort. The award gives the Army access to a platform shaped by extensive combat use in Ukraine, where persistent surveillance and artillery targeting must contend with heavy electronic warfare.

Raybird has supported long-duration reconnaissance and target acquisition against Russian forces, demonstrating the mission value of keeping sensors airborne for extended periods over contested terrain. Its entry into U.S. Army procurement reflects growing demand for combat-proven unmanned systems able to extend surveillance reach, accelerate targeting, and remain effective under electronic attack.

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Skyeton Raybird long-endurance unmanned aerial system launches from its catapult. The U.S. Army awarded Skyeton Inc. a $10.64 million contract in September 2026 for Raybird UAS hardware and services. (Picture source: Skyeton/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.

The firm-fixed-price award was announced on September 18, 2026, and went to Skyeton Inc. of North Las Vegas, Nevada. One bid was received, and work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of December 15, 2026. U.S. Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity under contract W58RGZ-26-F-A026. The U.S. Army has not disclosed how many Raybird systems it is acquiring, which unit will receive them, what sensors will be supplied, or whether the aircraft are intended for evaluation, training, or operational fielding.

For the U.S. Army, Raybird’s main attraction is the combination of long endurance and a relatively compact tactical footprint. Skyeton lists a maximum takeoff weight of 23 kg, a wingspan between 2.96 and 4.2 meters, endurance of up to 24 hours, maximum flight range of 2,500 km and a conventional data-link range exceeding 200 km. The aircraft carries up to 6 kg of mission equipment and uses a mechanical catapult for launch and parachute and airbag recovery, eliminating dependence on a prepared runway. These characteristics allow a reconnaissance detachment to operate from dispersed positions while keeping the aircraft over a target area for extended periods.

That endurance places Raybird in a different operational category from many small tactical drones already familiar to U.S. forces. AeroVironment’s Puma LE, for example, is a Group 2 UAS with up to 6.5 hours of endurance, a maximum operational range of 60 km when equipped with its long-range tracking antenna, and a maximum gross takeoff weight of about 12.4 kg. Raybird is heavier and requires a catapult rather than being hand-launched, but its advertised 24-hour endurance and 200-plus-km conventional data link give it substantially greater persistence and reach. Raybird would therefore not necessarily replace man-portable reconnaissance drones such as Puma LE, but could provide a longer-duration surveillance layer between small-unit UAS and larger unmanned aircraft requiring more infrastructure.

The system’s value to the U.S. Army could be particularly relevant to long-range fires. Skyeton says Raybird can remain over an area of responsibility while transmitting video and target coordinates to artillery units, including during operations affected by GPS denial and electronic warfare. The company specifically promotes the UAS for supporting systems including HIMARS, CAESAR and Krab, with crews able to remain tens of kilometers from the front while the aircraft tracks targets and supports strike assessment. These are manufacturer-described capabilities rather than mission requirements identified in the September 18 U.S. contract, but they illustrate the operational role Raybird has been developed to perform.

A 24-hour reconnaissance UAS could extend the time available to detect, classify, and follow mobile targets before targeting information is passed to artillery or rocket units. This becomes increasingly important against forces that frequently relocate command posts, air-defense systems, electronic-warfare equipment, and missile launchers to avoid detection. Instead of relying on a succession of shorter drone sorties, a long-endurance aircraft can maintain continuity over an area, potentially follow targets through multiple movements and remain available for post-strike assessment. For the U.S. Army, that persistence could strengthen the sensor-to-shooter chain supporting HIMARS and other long-range fires.

Raybird’s payload options reinforce that role. Skyeton offers electro-optical and infrared sensors, high-resolution cameras, synthetic aperture radar, and radio-frequency detection equipment. Depending on the configuration, the UAS could conduct conventional imagery reconnaissance, detect moving vehicles in degraded visibility, or locate electronically active targets such as communications and radar systems. The U.S. Army has not disclosed the payload associated with the $10.64 million contract, so it is not yet possible to determine whether the service is prioritizing visual reconnaissance, electronic detection, radar surveillance, or a combination of these missions.

The aircraft’s combat record is likely equally important to U.S. interests. Skyeton reported in June 2026 that Raybird had exceeded 350,000 combat flight hours in Ukraine. The figure is manufacturer-reported and has not been independently verified, but it indicates extensive operational exposure compared with an unmanned aircraft entering service directly from a development program. Skyeton says Raybird has operated under heavy electronic-warfare conditions and has continued to receive modifications informed by combat experience.

Ukraine has become one of the most demanding environments for unmanned reconnaissance because Russian forces combine electronic jamming, air defenses, counter-UAS systems, and increasingly specialized drone interceptors. The challenge is no longer simply keeping an aircraft airborne but maintaining navigation, communications, and useful sensor coverage while an opposing force actively attempts to detect, disrupt, or destroy it. Raybird’s relevance to the U.S. Army therefore extends beyond its published endurance and range, as the acquisition gives the service access to a reconnaissance UAS whose design and operating concepts have evolved during sustained high-intensity combat.

Skyeton has also expanded Raybird’s communications options with satellite connectivity for beyond-line-of-sight operations. Combined with its advertised 2,500-km maximum flight range, SATCOM could allow the aircraft to operate well beyond the limits of its conventional ground data link, although maximum flight range should not be confused with normal operational radius. For U.S. Army units, beyond-line-of-sight connectivity could become particularly relevant for deep reconnaissance missions where forward control stations would otherwise face greater exposure or be unable to maintain continuous communications with the aircraft.

The industrial arrangements behind the U.S. Army purchase remain unclear. The contract identifies Skyeton Inc. in North Las Vegas as the recipient, while Skyeton describes itself as a Ukrainian-born UAS manufacturer and has expanded production outside Ukraine, including manufacturing activity in Slovakia. The official contract announcement does not state where aircraft supplied under the $10.64 million award will be produced, assembled, or integrated. That question could become more important if the U.S. Army expands procurement, because U.S.-based production or integration could simplify logistics and sustainment while continued Ukrainian engineering involvement could preserve access to modifications emerging from combat experience.

The $10.64 million award remains too limited in disclosed detail to establish that Raybird is entering broad U.S. Army service. No quantity, receiving unit, payload configuration, or operational fielding plan has been published, and the contract announcement does not reveal whether the U.S. Army intends to conduct a limited evaluation, compare Raybird with existing U.S. tactical UAS, or deploy it with an operational formation. What is clear is that the U.S. Army is now contracting for Raybird hardware and services rather than only observing Ukrainian experience or assessing the aircraft through industry demonstrations.

The procurement is particularly notable as the U.S. Army reassesses how tactical and operational reconnaissance can support long-range fires on battlefields saturated with electronic warfare and counter-drone systems. Raybird offers substantially greater advertised endurance than smaller systems such as Puma LE, with a relatively light, runway-independent operating concept and payload options ranging from EO/IR reconnaissance to radar and RF detection. If the U.S. Army uses the contract to evaluate those capabilities alongside HIMARS and other long-range fires, Raybird could directly test whether lessons from Ukrainian drone units can translate into persistent reconnaissance and targeting capabilities for U.S. Army formations.

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Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.