The United States Special Forces will soon have a new weapon in its arsenal to help with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISF) operations critical to vital missions.

The drone used will be Lockheed Martin’s Indago, which includes a tethered option for longer operation.

The Indago drone flies about 50 to 70 minutes without a tether and can be carried in a rucksack for transportability. However, the tethered option allows Special Forces to use the drone continuously without the need for battery swapping or recharging.

"When it comes to unmanned systems and capability, size does matter," said Michael Carlson, business development manager for Indago. "We want to make something as important as force and facility protection as simple and effective as possible — the tethered Indago can do that."

The Indago drone can provide high resolution, daytime, electro-optical imagery capable of reading a license plate from a 1,000 feet away, Lockheed Martin said. At night, the drone provides thermal infrared tracking that can identify a person, weapon and other intelligence.

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