Army Secures Up to $7 Billion in Counter-Drone IDIQ Contracts

WASHINGTON — Army acquisition officials and Joint Interagency Task Force 401 leaders announced on Monday that the service has awarded multiple contracts valued at up to $7 billion for counter‑drone capabilities.

The contracts, which the Army began awarding Monday, form part of an indefinite‑delivery/indefinite‑quantity (IDIQ) vehicle, officials said. They will support the Pentagon’s drone and counter‑drone marketplace as well as the Domestic Shield program, which seeks to safeguard U.S. military installations and critical infrastructure from small‑drone threats.

It will also address additional counter‑UAS (unmanned aerial system) requirements across the federal government, said Brent Ingraham, the Army’s Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)), in a briefing with reporters ahead of the announcement.

“The contracts we awarded yesterday cover a broad spectrum of counter‑UAS capabilities—including sensors, effectors, and command‑and‑control systems—providing flexibility as new requirements arise,” Ingraham said. “Both the Army and the JIATF‑401 team seek competition to ensure we continually field the best technology and avoid reliance on a single vendor as the threat evolves. We have established the contracting framework ahead of future needs.”

The Army has awarded the following companies under the IDIQ:

• $500 million base for Allen Control Systems
• $500 million base for Digital Force Technologies
• $500 million base for DroneShield
• $250 million base for Echodyne Corp
• $500 million base for Napatree Technology
• $250 million base for PVP Advanced EO Systems
• $500 million base for RADA Technologies, LLC
• $150 million for SmartShooter Inc
• $500 million base for SRC
• $500 million base for L3Harris WESCAM

The Army did not specify the exact capabilities each contractor will deliver. However, Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, commanding general of JIATF‑401, told reporters that the service aims to establish a layered defense able to detect, track, identify, mitigate and neutralize hostile drones.

Instead of depending on a single “system of systems,” the Army is procuring multiple interoperable solutions to carry out those functions, Ross said.

“There is no silver bullet,” Ross said. “In the past, some believed we could simply select a single top‑tier counter‑UAS system and field it universally, but experience shows that no one solution fits all.”

Ingraham and Ross added that the Army will use several acquisition channels to facilitate purchases, including commercial solutions openings, a Common Command and Control Enterprise License Agreement, existing service contracts, and the Pentagon’s drone and counter‑drone marketplaces.

Through the marketplace, soldiers, other federal agencies and allied nations can acquire a range of counter‑drone capabilities, Ingraham said. He noted that he expects the counter‑drone marketplace to achieve similar success to the Army’s drone marketplace, which has already generated more than $800 million in sales.

Ross further explained that the marketplace will help scale the availability of drones for purchase, as current demand outstrips supply.

“What we aim to achieve through the marketplace is linking producers with customers so they can gauge real demand across the United States, as well as with our partners and allies,” Ross said. “A substantial IDIQ contract gives companies the confidence to raise capital and expand inventory, knowing we intend to maintain an ongoing partnership.”

Neither Ingraham nor Ross provided details on delivery timelines or the intended recipients of the systems.

Separately, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and JIATF‑401 signed a memorandum of understanding today to enhance information sharing on drone threats. According to an NNSA announcement, the memo will exchange data from its counter‑drone test events with the task force, and vice‑versa.

“Together, we will eliminate duplicate testing, speed the deployment of effective counter‑UAS capabilities, and bolster the protection of critical national security facilities,” the NNSA announcement stated. “Greater collaboration will enable participating organizations to use taxpayer funds more efficiently and accelerate the evaluation and fielding of advanced counter‑UAS technologies.”

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