NEW YORK - The US Army is bypassing some of venture capital's best-funded drone makers to buy technology from a little-known Utah manufacturer, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The Salt Lake City-based Teal Drones has been selected as the winner of a military program to provide thousands of small surveillance drones, the report said, citing a regulatory filing and an Army document.

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The program will arm US soldiers with backpack-size drones "similar to what the Ukrainians have deployed in vast numbers" in the conflict with Russia, according to the report.

"The Army has said it needs around 11,700 drones for its Short Range Reconnaissance program, its largest effort yet to acquire small surveillance aircraft. That size of purchase could give Teal roughly 260 million US dollars in revenue," it said.

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In a Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Teal said its portable drones would be provided to Army infantry platoons to expand their reconnaissance abilities.

"It is a victory for an underdog in the crowded US small drone market, which comprises billion-dollar California enterprises, low-profile founder-funded operations and penny-stock companies," the report said.