US Department of War shortlists 25 UAS vendors under Drone Dominance Program

The US Department of War has announced the shortlisting of 25 vendors of Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UASs) who will help the department get some 300,000 loitering munition UASs into service, both quickly and inexpensively, by 2027. The list includes firms such as Karatos and the Ukraine Defense Drones Tech Corp.

Up to 12 of them will be chosen, after an evaluation, to produce drones at scale for the department, delivering in July.

The 25 companies will compete in the first phase, or ‘gauntlet’, that makes up the department’s Drone Dominance Program (DDP), an acquisition reform effort designed to field low-cost, unmanned one-way attack UASs rapidly and at scale. This appears to have subsumed the former Replicator 1 initiative, launched in 2023, which sought to acquire UASs, rapidly.

This first gauntlet begins February 18, according to the US Army, when the 25 program participants will bring UAS prototypes to Fort Benning, Georgia. There, they will teach military personnel how to use them, and then complete various mission scenarios, including an evaluation of their ability to find, lock on and destroy a target.

By the end of the first gauntlet, vendors will be scored on the systems, and up to 12 of the 25 vendors will be invited to produce their drones, at scale, for the department.

The selected 12 vendors will then produce a total of 30,000 units, at an average price of US$5,000 ($7,100) for each, and deliver by July. Over the course of three additional gauntlets the number of vendors will go down from 12 to five, the number of drones ordered will increase from 30,000 to 150,000, and the price per drone will drop from US$5,000 to just US$2,300 ($3,270).

The Drone Dominance Program will drive costs down and capabilities up, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in a video posted to social media late last year.

 “We will deliver tens of thousands of small drones to our force in 2026, and hundreds of thousands of them by 2027.”

Through the program, funding will allow for the delivery of some 340,000 small UAS to combat units over the course of two years.

After that, it’s expected that US industry’s interest in building drones, as a result of the program, will have strengthened supply chains and manufacturing capacity to the point that military services will be able to afford to buy the drones they want, in the quantity they want and at a price they want, through regular budgeting.

Meanwhile, US Joint Interagency Task Force 401 has also announced its first acquisition of Counter-UAS systems under the Replicator 2 initiative. The Pentagon has awarded a contract of undisclosed value for two DroneHunter F700 systems, manufactured by Utah company Fortem Technologies, which are expected to be delivered by April.

According to the Dept of War this acquisition provides the task force with enhanced capabilities to counter the growing threat posed by small Uncrewed Aerial Systems (sUAS) to military installations and critical infrastructure across the United States.

“We’re designed to move at the speed of relevance, cutting through red tape, consolidating resources, and engaging venture capitalists, tech startups, and non-traditional defence firms as critical partners,” said Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, JIATF 401 director.

“We have just one measure of effectiveness: to deliver state-of-the-art counter-UAS capabilities to our war fighters both at home and abroad. This purchase of the DroneHunter system is a key first step in accomplishing our Replicator 2 mission,” Ross added.

The Replicator initiative, first announced in August 2023, is a War Department effort to accelerate the delivery of innovative capabilities to the war fighter at speed and scale, says the department.

While the first phase, Replicator 1, was focused on deploying thousands of autonomous systems across multiple domains, Replicator 2 is specifically aimed at countering the threat posed by small UAS.

Joint Interagency Task Force 401, established in August 2025, is the lead organization for this effort, tasked with synchronizing C-sUAS efforts across the department and rapidly delivering joint capabilities.

The DroneHunter F700 is a reusable, AI-driven interceptor drone that counters small UASs by capturing them with a tethered net. This is important in settings where personnel, infrastructure and surrounding activity require careful control of effects.

The system uses AI and radar to detect and track small, low-altitude UASs in complex environments and then captures them. The captured UAS is then safely towed to a designated location for forensic analysis.

This initial purchase is the first step in a tailored approach to delivering state-of-the-art C-UAS technology to protect military infrastructure and service members, the department says.