US EditionPentagon taps 25 firms for small, cheap attack drone competition
- On Tuesday, the Defense Department selected 25 vendors for Phase I of a $1.1 billion program to buy more than 200,000 drones by 2027 under the Drone Dominance program.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has argued the effort is a process race, urging faster fielding and evaluation following a June 2025 executive order prioritizing inexpensive American-made combat drones, while the department says regular buys will stabilize demand for the U.S. industrial base.
- Beginning Feb. 18, the Phase I Gauntlet will run at Fort Benning, Georgia, ending early March with about $150 million in prototype delivery orders placed; each vendor must bring 11 drones, 10 inert payloads, and receives a $25,000 award.
- The Pentagon said the competition "begins now" with several firms already pre-vetted, military operators will fly and evaluate drones to decide who receives prototype orders, and funding plus compressed timeline accelerate deliveries.
- Over the program's phases, unit prices are expected to fall as volumes increase, with orders growing to 150,000 while vendors decline from 12 to 5 and competitive cycles measured in months.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Pentagon Invites 25 Vendors to Compete to Build Up Arsenal of One-Way Attack Drones
The Pentagon has extended invitations to 25 different drone makers to compete in the first phase of its program to find and field cheap one-way attack drones. One-way attack drones have become a common feature on modern battlefields. Ukrainian forces, for instance, have employed these relatively cheap explosive-laden drones to great effect, targeting more expensive Russian military equipment and slowing Russia’s advance across the country. Now, …
War Department Announces Vendors Invited To Compete In Phase I Of The Drone Dominance Program - Armed Forces Press
Image by АрміяInform The Pentagon released the following today: February 3rd, 2026 When Secretary of War Pete Hegseth took office a year ago, matching new technologies to threats was one of his core priorities. He commissioned an acquisition strategy to swiftly outfit our combat units with lethal drones. The War Department today announced the 25 vendors invited to compete in Phase I of the Drone Dominance Program (DDP), an acquisition reform eff…
The Gateway Pundit
soldiersystems.netWar Department Announces Vendors Invited To Compete In Phase I Of The Drone Dominance Program
Department of War – Press Release, February 3rd, 2026 When Secretary of War Pete Hegseth took office a year ago, matching new technologies to threats was one of his core priorities.
Marine Corps Times
Pentagon taps 25 firms for small, cheap attack drone competition
The Pentagon on Tuesday announced 25 small technology and drone companies that will compete for a chance to quickly field thousands of low-cost one-way attack drones for the military.Kratos SRE Inc., a subsidiary of Kratos Defense, and Halo Aeronautics are among the more than two dozen vendors taking part in the first phase of the Defense Department’s Drone Dominance Program, the department said in a statement.“Drone dominance is a process race …
Pentagon names 25 vendors to compete for $150M in delivery orders during first phase of its Drone Dominance Program, 'the Gauntlet'
The Pentagon named 25 vendors Tuesday to compete in the first phase of the department’s “Drone Dominance Program,” a list that includes known and relatively unknown companies in the unmanned aerial systems industry. The evaluation, which officials are calling “the Gauntlet,” will begin on Feb. 18 at Fort Benning in Georgia, according to a press release. Military drone operators will fly and evaluate vendor equipment into early March, when the De…
DOD names 25 companies to compete for first Drone Dominance awards
The Defense Department today selected 25 vendors to participate in the first phase of a $1.1 billion program to purchase more than 200,000 small commercial drones by 2027. The companies selected to participate in a live demonstration and evaluation event for the Drone Dominance program -- the Phase I Gauntlet -- beginning Feb. 18 at Fort Benning, GA, are: Anno.AI Ascent Aerosystems Auterion Government Solutions DZYNE Technologies Ewing Aerospa…
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