The Washington. DC-based defense issues website the Defense Post reported on Monday that the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), which was set up to develop new technologies for the US military, has selected four US companies, two of which are partnered with Ukrainian firms, to develop long-range, one-way attack drone prototypes under its Artemis program.
The four chosen companies to produce prototypes for operational assessment and evaluation following a competitive tenders process are AeroVironment, Dragoon, Swan, and Auterion; the latter two are partnered with unnamed Ukrainian drone manufacturers. The solicitation received more than 160 offers to produce prototypes by the end of 2025.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
The aim of the program is to produce “adaptable” loitering munitions capable of operating in an electromagnetic-contested environment. It was not made clear whether the competition will end with one or more companies eventually receiving production contracts.
The Artemis requirement
The DIU statement of requirement (SOR) calls for large-scale production and deployment of the winning bidders.
It calls for the drones to be ground-launched with operating ranges of between 50 kilometers (31 miles) and 300 kilometers (186 miles).
It should be rapidly deployable, fly and navigate at low altitudes, and capable of carrying multiple payloads.
It must be electronic warfare (EW) resistant and able to function in “disrupted, disconnected, low-bandwidth, and GPS-denied environments.” The system must be capable of being updated and upgradable in response to changing and emerging operational and technological threats.
Ukraine to Kick Off Mandatory Military Training for University Students – Men and Women – in Sept
According to a March 11 report in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the US companies have been unable to replicate the operational success of Ukraine despite having spent “billions” on drone development. They hope the Ukrainian involvement in the Artemis program will enable the US to acquire the advanced drones the US military is currently calling for.
Not just Ukrainian quality that’s on offer
A DIU spokesperson said, without specifically mentioning the war in Ukraine, that “Project Artemis goals are directly tied to observations of current real world combat conditions as well as feedback from end users across the Department of Defense (DoD) on what capabilities may be needed in this space to face near peer threat capabilities around the world.”
WSJ cited Nathan Mintz, co-founder of the Southern California software company CX2 who has been working with Ukrainian drone makers to provide software and sensors for combat testing, who said “No American company is keeping up with Ukraine. Their developments work perfectly, and they have the best laboratory for testing all models in combat conditions.”
The article said that in 2024 the Pentagon estimated that US manufacturers could produce around 100,000 drones each year while Ukraine had manufactured more than two million drones last year alone – drones that had flown hundreds of missions, over thousands of kilometers, that repeatedly struck targets deep within Russia.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
