Department of Defense advances Drone Dominance Program

The U.S. Department of Defense is advancing its Drone Dominance Program, selecting top performers in the Deep Strike and Close Quarters Battle mission areas. Following the Gauntlet II competition held at Fort Carson, Colorado, the program intends to order 60,000 drones from the winning companies.

In a separate development, the Pentagon has named 17 companies to participate in a qualifier demonstration for reusable bomber drones. This Phase 2.5 Bomber Qualifier is scheduled for next month at Camp Grayling, Michigan. The event will involve vendors operating bomber systems, with the Test Resource Management Center overseeing the demonstrations.

Notable participants include Skycutter, which was named the top competitor in Drone Dominance Phase I, as well as UDD Tech Corp., Halo Aeronautics, and Swarm Defense, all of whom earned delivery orders from the DOD. The Pentagon expects to award approximately $32 million in initial prototype orders under Phase 2.5, with further orders planned for subsequent phases.