US Army seeks sovereign, low-cost UASs

The US Army’s Program Executive Office Aviation, Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) Project Office has released a Sources Sought Notification to identify commercially available low-cost, sovereign Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (SUAS). The Army is looking to field thousands of low-cost UAS immediately, it says.

The Army seeks data on domestically produced solutions and information to support future acquisition. The Army intends to significantly expand UAS production capacity across the industrial base and rapidly deliver low-cost systems to Soldiers, it adds. The information gathered will identify the capacity of the US commercial industrial base to produce low-cost airframes with quantities in the thousands, helping to inform future acquisition decisions.

This US Army approach to market closely resembles last year’s Australian Sovereign UAS Challenge, conducted by the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) at Woomera which has resulted in contracts to five separate UAS manufacturers.

The US Army’s Sources Sought Notification asks interested vendors for information about their low-cost, non-developmental or commercial solutions. The UAS must be eligible for the Defense Innovation Unit Blue List (2020 NDAA Sec 848 and 2023 NDAA Sec 817 compliant) or demonstrate a path to compliance, says the US Army.

Vendors with proven, low-cost SUAS solutions are encouraged to respond to the Sources Sought Notification on SAM.gov by July 18th, 2025.

For full details and submission instructions, please refer to the official posting on SAM.gov (https://sam.gov/opp/43027743dc3e46719987fa4f87d65b23/view).