The Defense Innovation Unit, in coordination with U.S. Northern Command, the U.S. Army and other military branches, has announced 10 finalists for the Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft System Low-Cost Sensing challenge.
Selected from 118 applicants, the finalists will now prepare for live demonstrations and testing during the Falcon Peak 25.2 exercise in September, DIU said Monday. The challenge aims to identify scalable, cost-effective sensing technologies capable of detecting and tracking hostile drones and is working to pair exquisite sensor systems with affordable, distributed sensing technologies.
“The evolving threat from unmanned aerial systems demands that we leverage every tool at our disposal – from cutting-edge commercial solutions to robust partnerships across government and industry,” said DIU Director Doug Beck, noting that the challenge taps into non-traditional defense companies.
C-sUAS Low-Cost Sensing Finalists
The 10 C-sUAS Low-Cost Sensing finalists are:
- BLUEiQ
- CHAOS 1
- Fortem Technologies
- Guardian RF
- Hidden Level
- MatrixSpace
- REVOBEAM
- Squarehead Technology
- Teledyne FLIR Defense
- Thalrix
“These ten finalists represent the forefront of sensor innovation, demonstrating how diverse technological approaches can enhance our layered defense,” said David Payne, director of Replicator 2 at DIU.
At USNORTHCOM’s Falcon Peak, the companies’ sensing solutions will undergo a real-world test, with the prize distributed based on performance at the event. Top performers may be considered for further opportunities, including other transaction agreements, cooperative research deals and potential transition to operational deployment.
