The Pentagon today announced a crucial evaluation event, inviting 25 companies to demonstrate their capabilities in one-way attack drones. This „Gauntlet,” scheduled to run from mid-February into March at Fort Benning, Georgia, will determine who receives a share of the expected $150 million in prototype orders, marking the first phase of the „Drone Dominance Program.” Those that make the cut will have just five months to deliver the aerial weapons to the military, accelerating a strategic move to modernize.
The Stakes of „Drone Dominance”: $1.1 Billion and Acquisition Reform
The „Drone Dominance” program is not just about hardware acquisition; it operationalizes the Secretary of War’s acquisition reform priorities. The Pentagon is sending a clear demand signal to industry: „$1.1 billion over four phases, placing warfighters at the center of evaluation, and driving competitive, iterative cycles measured in months, not years.” The objective is to decrease unit prices, increase production volumes, and enhance operational capability as the program progresses.
New Doctrine: Every Army Squad Equipped with Drones by 2026
Details about this upcoming test plan follow an early June 2025 executive order from the White House, „Unleashing American Drone Domination,” which broadly focuses on commercial UAS. The next month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued his own memo, „Unleashing US Military Drone Dominance,” directing every Army squad to be armed with small, one-way attack drones by the end of fiscal year 2026. Hegseth criticized the previous administration’s slow pace: „While global military drone production skyrocketed over the last three years, the previous administration deployed red tape… US units are not outfitted with the lethal small drones the modern battlefield requires.” He added that „lethality will not be hindered by self-imposed restrictions, especially when it comes to harnessing technologies we invented but were slow to pursue.”
From Conception to Battlefield: Complementary Initiatives and Reduced Costs
Acquiring small, expendable drones has become a focal point for the US Army, which has also launched the „Purpose Built Attritable System” initiative and recently held an industry day for companies capable of producing small drones under $2,000.
Pioneers of the Future: The 25 Selected Companies
The Department of Defense has selected 25 companies for the next stage of the Drone Dominance Program. They are:
- ANNO.AI, INC.
- ASCENT AEROSYSTEMS INC
- AUTERION GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONS INC
- DZYNE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
- EWING AEROSPACE LLC
- FARAGE PRECISION, LLC
- FIRESTORM LABS, INC.
- GENERAL CHERRY CORP
- GREENSIGHT INC.
- GRIFFON AEROSPACE, INC.
- HALO AERONAUTICS, LLC
- KRATOS SRE, INC.
- MODALAI, INC.
- NAPATREE TECHNOLOGY LLC
- NEROS, INC.
- OKSI VENTURES, INC.
- PALADIN DEFENSE SERVICES LLC
- PERFORMANCE DRONE WORKS LLC
- RESPONSIBLY LTD
- SWARM DEFENSE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
- TEAL DRONES INC
- UKRAINIAN DEFENSE DRONES TECH CORP
- VECTOR DEFENSE, INC
- W S DARLEY & CO
- XTEND REALITY INC.
