Awards to Seven Firms Totalling $14 Million
The US DoD has made eight awards to seven firms, totalling $14 million (€12 million) to strengthen the domestic small UAS (sUAS) industrial base, under the Defense Production Act, Title III programme.
Made via the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the awards are part of a wider strategy to accelerate the adoption of capable and secure sUAS through the ‘Blue UAS’ effort, which is focused on increasing DoD access to commercial systems and strengthening the industrial base to disrupt the dominance currently demonstrated in the supply chain by China.
“sUAS significantly augment our national defense,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, Jesse Salazar. “This investment in the defense industrial base is intended to provide critical battlefield capabilities across the spectrum of conflict, including on-demand reconnaissance, which augments service members’ capabilities and increases their survivability, lethality, and mission flexibility.”
The companies receiving the awards are: Auterion Government Solutions (two separate awards); Kutta Technologies Inc.; Shield AI Inc.; Skydio Inc.; Systems and Technology Research LLC (dba STR); Tomahawk Robotics, Inc.; and Vantage Robotics LLC.
