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The War Department has named 25 companies invited to compete in the first phase of its Drone Dominance Program, a major acquisition reform initiative aimed at rapidly fielding large numbers of low-cost, one-way attack drones for front-line combat units.
The program stems from priorities set by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shortly after he took office a year ago, when he directed officials to better align emerging technologies with evolving battlefield threats. A central focus of that effort was developing a faster, less bureaucratic approach to acquiring lethal uncrewed systems.
In a memorandum issued in July 2025, “Unleashing US Military Drone Dominance”, Secretary Hegseth described drone warfare as “a process race as much as a technological race”, arguing that speed, scale and simplicity would be decisive. He said the department would prioritise systems that work, can be produced quickly and delivered in volume, without being slowed by internal constraints.
Phase I of the program, known as “the Gauntlet”, will begin on 18 February at Fort Benning. Military operators will fly and assess competing drone systems in realistic conditions. The evaluation is expected to conclude in early March, when around US$150 million in prototype delivery orders will be awarded. Successful vendors will begin deliveries soon after, with production continuing over the following five months.
The Drone Dominance Program is designed to send a strong demand signal to industry, with total funding of US$1.1 billion spread across four phases.
By 2027, the War Department expects to be fielding hundreds of thousands of weaponised, one-way attack drones ready for combat operations.
The program is sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of War and delivered through a partnership between the Defense Innovation Unit, the Test Resource Management Center and the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Crane Division.
Officials said funding has already been secured and timelines significantly compressed, with the competitive process now formally underway.
The 25 companies invited to participate in Gauntlet I, listed alphabetically, are:
- Anno.AI
- Ascent Aerosystems
- Auterion Government Solutions
- DZYNE Technologies
- Ewing Aerospace
- Farage Precision
- Firestorm Labs
- General Cherry
- GreenSight
- Griffon Aerospace
- Halo Aeronautics
- Kratos SRE
- ModalAI
- Napatree Technology
- Neros Inc
- Nokturnal AI
- Paladin Defense Services
- Performance Drone Works
- Responsibly
- Swarm Defense Technologies
- Teal Drones
- Ukrainian Defense Drone Tech Corp
- Vector Defense
- WS Darley & Co
- Xtend Reality Inc
Under the model, warfighters play a central role in evaluating systems, while rapid, competitive cycles are measured in months rather than years. As the program progresses, unit costs are expected to fall, production volumes to increase and operational capability to improve.
Stephen Kuper
Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.
