Washington: The US Army has awarded counter-drone contracts to 10 companies with a combined ceiling of $4.15 billion, as the Pentagon races to build defences against small unmanned aircraft. The contracts were announced on Tuesday, September 29.
Who Won the Contracts
Seven companies received contracts with a ceiling of $500 million each: Allen Control Systems, Digital Force Technologies, DroneShield, L3Harris WESCAM, Napatree Technology, RADA Technologies and SRC. Echodyne and PVP Advanced EO Systems received $250 million contracts, and SmartShooter, a company known for rifle-mounted fire-control sights, received $150 million.
The contracts are "indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity" agreements, meaning the figures are spending ceilings, not guaranteed orders. The Army said only about $50 million was obligated at the time of award. It did not specify which technologies each company would provide, but the contracts cover sensors, electronic countermeasures, weapons and command-and-control systems.
A $7 Billion Programme
The awards are part of a wider contract vehicle that officials expect to reach $7 billion by the end of next month. They support the Pentagon's drone and counter-drone marketplace, run by Joint Interagency Task Force 401, and its Domestic Shield programme, which aims to protect US military installations and critical infrastructure from small drones. Officials said the task force has awarded more than $5 billion in total so far, including earlier contracts with AeroVironment and CACI.
Officials said the aim is to build a "layered defence" capable of detecting, tracking, identifying and defeating drones, and noted that demand for counter-drone technology has outpaced supply.
Sources
Defense One, DefenseScoop, Breaking Defense, Defense Daily.