Reconnaissance drones for US Special Operations Command: Tekever reports completion

Reconnaissance drones are now in use at US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM): they are unmanned aircraft systems from Tekever. The manufacturer announced in October that the purchase had been completed – from its office in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Beforehand, the systems had gone through a programme of validation and acceptance tests, accompanied by targeted training and numerous flights at several locations.

What the announcement leaves out is at least as revealing. Tekever said nothing about the number, model, configuration or value of the systems purchased; it also remains open which part of USSOCOM will operate them.

What is certain

That such a process was under way had been public knowledge for at least a year and a half; with the purchase, it has now been concluded. In March 2025, Tekever reported that it had completed an operational exercise together with USSOCOM at Camp Roberts, California. At its centre was the AR3, a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft that the manufacturer presented as suitable for discreet missions in remote and inhospitable areas. According to Tekever's account at the time, the exercise demonstrated that the system remains operational even under electronically contested conditions.

The wording of the current announcement, however, points to a different phase. With validation and acceptance tests, a customer establishes whether a system meets its requirements before it enters service. In addition, the company's own headline states that Tekever is providing aerial reconnaissance to USSOCOM. Both suggest aircraft that have already been handed over rather than another demonstration. How large the scope is, on the other hand, remains unclear: an initial quantity of one unit, a limited procurement for operational evaluation and equally the first step of a larger programme would all be consistent with the published information.

Tekever CEO Ricardo Mendes described the procurement as “an important milestone in a relationship that has been built over time through rigorous testing, open dialogue and a clear focus on delivering effective capabilities”. The company looks forward to continuing to support the USSOCOM personnel it has worked with in their evolving requirements, he added.

Who operates the systems is also significant. USSOCOM, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, is a unified combatant command. It oversees the special operations forces of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, as well as the Joint Special Operations Command. If a system goes to a maritime rather than a land-based component, that would suggest quite different uses.

Choosing Fayetteville

Tekever opened its first US office in Fayetteville on 18 May, timed to coincide with SOF Week in Tampa, where the company exhibited at the NATO DIANA stand. According to Tekever, the site is intended as a hub – for coordination, technical support and ongoing, day-to-day contact with partners in the US. Portuguese media noted at the time that the company already had employees in the country.

Why this location is obvious: Fayetteville is in the immediate vicinity of Fort Bragg, home to the US Army Special Operations Command and the Joint Special Operations Command. A supplier to special operations forces thus has its engineers and support staff within driving distance of those who fly, maintain and evaluate the aircraft.

This proximity fits the development model as Tekever describes it in its statement. According to this, data and feedback from every single flight cycle are used for further refinement. Because the company is vertically integrated – from development and manufacturing through software and artificial intelligence (AI) to operational support – it can quickly incorporate user feedback throughout the entire life cycle of a system. That is how the company presents it. If this is true, it would have a practical consequence for a customer such as USSOCOM: anyone wanting to change sensors, data links or software does not first have to bring in a whole series of subcontractors.

Which reconnaissance drones are candidates

According to Tekever, the system acquired is highly capable and built for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in demanding environments. A modular architecture is said to combine the air platform, mission-specific payloads, communications and AI-supported mission software. This description alone does not point to a specific aircraft, as it fits all of the manufacturer's products. The portfolio does, however, show how broad the range is from which USSOCOM could have bought – and what each of these variants would mean in operation.

So far, only a single Tekever aircraft has been publicly linked to the command: the AR3, which was used in the “Camp Roberts 2025” exercise. For its current version, the AR3 EVO, the manufacturer gives a maximum take-off weight of 25 kilograms (30 kilograms in VTOL configuration), a wingspan of 4.2 metres and a payload capacity of six kilograms. As a fixed-wing aircraft, endurance is said to be up to 22 hours, and up to 14 hours with VTOL booms fitted. Further specifications: cruising speed 46 knots (85 km/h), communication range up to 230 kilometres.

For special operations, however, dimensions count for more than performance data. In VTOL configuration, the AR3 EVO needs an area of five by five metres, including on ship decks and unprepared ground; no catapult or runway is required. It is said to take less than five minutes from transport case to readiness, and five days to train the operators. Whether a small team far from established infrastructure takes an aircraft along or leaves it behind is decided by precisely these figures.

The AR3 also has the features that Tekever designed for contested airspace. These include a modular CRPA antenna whose controlled reception pattern suppresses interference with satellite navigation, as well as alternative navigation sensors, encryption against spoofing (signal falsification) in the autopilot and a “No GPS” operating mode in case the environment is completely jammed. Radio modules can be swapped in the field – for example to adapt to allied networks or to change the frequency band, which makes detection more difficult. According to Bloomberg, Tekever has been active in Ukraine since 2022 and markets the AR3 EVO as combat-proven, without, however, having made details of this deployment public.

Mission profiles at a glance

The payload options cover the range of tasks that can be expected from a customer in the special operations field. Tekever groups them into mission profiles:

• “Detect and identify”: electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) gimbals, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) including ground moving target indication, signals intelligence sensors and a laser designator;
• “Electronic attack”: directional antennas for electronic warfare and target-specific communication nodes;
• “Communications relay”: linking dispersed ground units;
• plus “Maritime wide-area surveillance”.

As compatible equipment, the manufacturer lists gimbals from Trillium, Hood Tech and Octopus, the IMSAR NSP-3 radar, signals intelligence equipment from CRFS, IFF Mode 5 and Link 16. Several differently equipped aircraft can fly the same mission from a single ground control system. A customer can therefore acquire a number of aircraft and set the configuration from mission to mission.

At the other end of the scale is the AR5: 180 kilograms maximum take-off weight, 50 kilograms of payload and – depending on the payload – 16 to 20 hours of endurance. The British Army selected it under Project CORVUS, and in August a contract with the Portuguese Air Force followed. The DEEP-FIND configuration includes an IMSAR NSP-7 or NSP-5 radar with stated detection ranges of 55 kilometres in SAR mode and 24 kilometres for moving ground targets, a Hood Tech AC14 turret with a high-power laser designator to support guided weapons, ELINT payloads with geolocation up to 200 kilometres, “Link 16” integration and a relay function over 60 kilometres for smaller aircraft such as the AR3.

It does, however, require a runway or an unpaved strip 200 to 300 metres long. In special operations, the AR5 would therefore be more of an asset supporting a task group from a fixed location and less an aircraft that a team launches on site.

Both aircraft use ATLAS, Tekever's AI-supported mission software. It can detect objects both on board and on the ground, control several aircraft simultaneously and replay missions. Also integrated is the “Team Awareness Kit” (TAK), an application for situational awareness widely used by US forces and allies. Since the press release mentions AI-supported mission software, it seems reasonable to assume that ATLAS is wholly or partly part of the package – there is no confirmation of this.

On the basis of current information, the AR3 is the most likely candidate. Tekever chose this aircraft for the demonstration to USSOCOM, and both its size and launch method fit the way special operations forces typically use small unmanned aircraft. It nevertheless remains an assumption: the announcement speaks of systems in the plural and of a modular ecosystem, so a mixed procurement cannot be ruled out.

Background on the company

Ricardo Mendes founded Tekever in Lisbon in 2001. Production takes place in Portugal, while its activities now extend across Europe: these include an investment plan of £400 million (€478 million) in the United Kingdom, a commitment of €200 million in France, a site in Munich and a plant in Swindon, England, dedicated to the production of the AR3 EVO. On 23 September, the company announced the first close of a Series D funding round of US$580 million (€520 million). It was led by UC Investments and Baillie Gifford, at a valuation of US$6.4 billion (€5.7 billion). According to the company, the money is to go into international expansion, higher production capacity and acquisitions.

The order book has grown just as quickly. Within the past twelve months, the following were added: a framework contract with the European Maritime Safety Agency worth €30 million (November 2025), a €1.5 million order for the delivery of the AR3 EVO to Portugal's National Maritime Authority (June), the selection by the British Army under Project CORVUS worth up to £400 million over ten years (July) and the AR5 contract from the Portuguese Air Force (August).

With USSOCOM, Tekever has won a customer of a special kind: the command has its own budget and is allowed to procure on its own. When special operations users first test and accept a system and then buy it, this gives Tekever a reference in the US defence market – one that its European business alone, however extensive, could not provide.

How much weight the announcement actually carries depends on the still open question of the scope of the purchase. In a press release, a small purchase for evaluation purposes and a capability for an entire service would sound the same. Two things, however, are certain: the relationship has made the step from demonstration to procurement, and Tekever has set up its first American office right next to those who will decide whether the aircraft works.