The Army is looking for interceptor component parts with the “primary objective” of providing a database that may be "leveraged in support of a future C-sUAS Interceptor program," a recent RFI states.
"We’re locked in step with the Army, we’re fired up about the future, and I think what you’re going to see at AUSA really supports where the Army is headed," Geoff Norman, director of US strategy and growth at GDLS, told Breaking Defense.
The U.S. Army’s MAPS Gen II program of record for assured PNT provides an authoritative and reliable source of truth for combat vehicles in a highly contested battlespace.
Maneuverable and deadly drone swarms are driving demand for platform-agnostic solutions for cannons and missiles.
"You don't need a bespoke F-35 at eleventy billion dollars an hour, right? You can do this in a very cost-effective way,” Ray Fitzgerald, senior vice president for strategy at SNC, told Breaking Defense.
The Army Innovation Program is "shifting to this more deliberate, spiralized approach, where we can have rapid tech upgrades and tech refreshes throughout the life cycle,” the program's director said.
Stacie Pettyjohn, a co-author of the new Center for New American Security study, told Breaking Defense the US should focus on three c-UAS tactics.
Explore how networked warfare, AI, and 3D-printed drones are reshaping US Indo-Pacific strategy.
Iron Beam 450 derives its name from the 450mm aperture of the system.
The two firms are focused on the lower tier aspect of Golden Dome, such as small drones and cruise missiles.
The move comes amid a global drone and counter-drone spending spree, including in the US where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently signed a memo that in part directed every US Army squad to be armed with small, one-way attack drones by the end of fiscal 2026.
Battlefield inventions in Ukraine are already outpacing a joint US-UK counter-UAS effort that is just months old.
Six companies have already signed up for a new flight-test program to mature their autonomy software.
Shield’s “Hivemind” autonomy software will go on an undisclosed “operational weapon,” while Shield’s ViDAR sensor software will go on Raytheon’s MTS multi-sensor turret to help in tracking and targeting incoming enemy drones.
Service leaders worry about base defense, but Gen. David Allvin also asked, "Why don't we think about including that in our Air Force and doing like the Ukrainians do?”
The LCD systems will “help to minimize risk to friendly forces, civilians, and infrastructure in the homeland and abroad,” DIU said in the release.
Though US Northern Command's chief has blamed hobbyists for most incidents, a senior official told lawmakers that US adversaries have shown they're not above suspicion.