Utah Gov. Tours Teal Drones HQ to Discuss State Support for Utah’s Defense Industry

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

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Military technology company Red Cat Holdings has announced that Utah Gov. Spencer Cox toured the Salt Lake City HQ of its subsidiary, Teal Drones, on January 25th. The visit was organized in order to help educate the governor on the company’s operations and their national impact, as well as the opportunities and challenges facing industries in Utah.

“We discussed ways in which the state can support our efforts across regulation and deployments,” said Teal Founder and CEO George Matus. “The sky is literally the limit for Teal, and we’re grateful for the governor’s interest in aiding the growth of our company and Utah’s broader aerospace and defense sector.”

The tour involved meet-and-greets with a range of department heads, providing the governor with a wealth of information about engineering, testing, manufacturing, supply chain and compliance for Teal’s military-grade drone products.

“For far too long, we have ceded the building of drones to China and other places,” said Gov. Cox. “We are bringing that back and Utah is at the center of that. Teal is an incredible company that is making a difference with defense-focused drones.”

Teal Drones is “Blue UAS” certified, marking it as a select manufacturer with the authorization to provide the U.S. military with equipment. The company is additionally one of only three drone manufacturers invited to take part in the U.S. Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance Tranche 2 (SRR T2) program. The SRR T2 program aims to develop a portable small uncrewed aerial system (sUAS) to be deployed by army platoons to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance operations and grant enhanced situational awareness.

The governor’s visit was arranged by the recently formed Utah Aerospace and Defense Association (UADA), established in 2022 to address challenges related to innovation, entrepreneurship, workforce development and supply chains for aerospace and defense companies. UADA collaborates with the governor’s office, the Utah System of Higher Education, and industry leaders.

“Teal is deepening its relationship with UADA to help accelerate the rebuilding of America’s defense industrial base, specifically for drones,” said Matus. “UADA has expressed its support for our company and we look forward to a continued relationship with the association and the governor’s office.”

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Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.