US Army selects THOR autonomous VTOL drone soldiers can carry for frontline warfare

The U.S. Army awarded Mistral Inc. a contract for the THOR Group 2 UAS, a backpack-portable autonomous multirotor drone.

Developed by FUSE and supported by Avandra LLC, the system will be delivered, trained, and sustained in the United States.

The THOR drone gives smaller Army units independent aerial capability for reconnaissance, surveillance, and communications relay.

The move is meant to speed up frontline operations by reducing reliance on higher-level drone support.