- Twenty-five companies have secured spots in the Pentagon’s latest autonomous systems evaluation effort
- Crucible 2 will bring industry and military operators together to test emerging robotic warfare technologies
- The initiative supports the Pentagon’s push to rapidly develop and field AI-enabled warfighting capabilities
The Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office within the Department of War has selected 25 companies to participate in Crucible 2 under the Swarm Forge initiative, the agency announced on LinkedIn Tuesday.
AI, autonomous systems and next-generation defense technologies will take center stage at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Army Summit on June 18, 2026 Air and Space Summit on July 30 and 2026 Navy Summit on Aug. 27. Join military and industry leaders to explore the innovations shaping the future of military operations. Register today.
What Is Crucible 2?
Crucible 2 is an upcoming autonomous systems demonstration scheduled for June 22-26 at Camp Blanding, Florida. The event is being organized through a partnership involving CDAO, the U.S. Special Operations Command, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, the Defense Innovation Unit and the U.S. Naval Drone Association.
According to the CDAO, Crucible events support a rapid pathway for testing, evaluating and deploying new autonomous capabilities with trained warfighters. The effort focuses on advancing autonomous systems while maintaining human oversight of operations.
Which Companies Were Selected?
The latest solicitation drew a record 133 submissions from industry. The selected participants will either perform demonstrations or observe activities during Crucible 2 and will be placed on contract to continue Swarm Forge efforts.
The companies that will participate in Crucible 2 are:
- AeroVironment
- Anduril Technologies
- Ark Robotics
- Astral Technology
- Auterion Government Solutions
- Breaker
- Chord Robotics
- DAINAMIX
- Data Blanket
- Hardy Dynamics
- Helsing
- Lockheed Martin
- Mistral
- NODA A
- Nokturnal AI
- OpenDefense
- Palantir USG
- Post Quantum Labs
- Regent Defense
- Scientific Systems
- Scout AI
- Shield AI
- Skyeton
- SwarmInt
- Tycho AI
The latest selections advance Swarm Forge, a Pentagon initiative launched earlier this year under the War Department’s AI Acceleration Strategy. The effort is designed to rapidly identify, test and scale AI-enabled warfighting capabilities through experimentation with military operators and industry partners.
