To say there is a lot of competition in the drone industry is putting it mildly. Hundreds of drone manufacturers compete for a limited number of military contracts. The latest weapon of the week from Performance Drone Works (PDW) has a few key highlights that make it stand out from the rest of the pack.
At first glance, the C-100 drone looks very similar to a drone on a big box store’s shelves. However, a closer look reveals that the C-100 is a much more versatile piece of technology.
Performance Drone Works calls the C-100 “The Ultimate Force Multiplier.” The drone can gather intel, carry payloads and also deliver munitions with precision with a first-person view (FPV) camera.
“FPV is a whole new style of of munition delivery, where a pilot has very finite control of exactly where that munition can be placed,” Ryan Gury, the CEO and co-founder of PDW, said. “When that can be placed, you can stand off but a great while identify targets, you can hit pieces of armor or exactly where they’re vulnerable. And just last week, we heard from the generals in Ukraine that FPV is now out-surpassing artillery and small arms for anti-personnel and anti-armor.”
Gury and his team designed the C-100 with Drone Racing League technology in mind after the performance capability of those drones caught the eye of the special forces community. The C-100 uses AI assisted software that helps it think around enemy systems. That technology also helps keep soldiers safer on the battlefield.
“Drones that you can use from your body, from your rucksack, drones to be used on a frontline really do extend the frontline, beyond humans and into sensors and robotics and really keep the warfighter at safety,” Gury said.
That mindset helped PDW find its place in the military drone marketplace. Earlier this year, the U.S. Special Operations Force’s Acquisitions, Technology and Logistics Office granted the Alabama-based startup a $6.9 million contract for their black wave radio system. PDW designed the system to keep drones and communications systems resistant to jamming signals from enemy forces.
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