- DOW awarded more than $25 million to expand counter-unmanned aircraft systems capabilities
- Capabilities will support U.S. Southern Command operations
- Effort builds on JIATF-401’s expanding C-UAS acquisition portfolio and role in accelerating defense procurement
The Department of War is expanding counter-unmanned aircraft systems capabilities supporting U.S. Southern Command through more than $25 million in procurements.
The department said Tuesday that the procurements highlight the role of U.S. Army-led Joint Interagency Task Force 401, or JIATF-401, in developing faster pathways to deliver operationally relevant capabilities to military forces.
What Capabilities Will the C-UAS Awards Provide?
The procurements include interceptors, electronic warfare suites and other C-UAS capabilities designed to provide integrated options for addressing unmanned aerial threats across complex operational environments.
The effort is intended to strengthen the military’s ability to detect and track small unmanned aircraft systems, improve air domain awareness and provide additional precision defeat options for forces operating within the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility.
Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, director of JIATF-401, said the task force is working across the military services and combatant commands to accelerate the deployment of layered C-UAS capabilities.
“We are cutting through red tape, moving proven technologies from acquisition to operational capability faster, and incorporating user feedback to constantly enhance our protection,” Ross added.
How Does the USSOUTHCOM Effort Fit Into JIATF-401’s Broader C-UAS Portfolio?
The latest awards add to JIATF-401’s growing counter-unmanned aircraft systems acquisition portfolio, spanning enterprise-wide requirements, combatant-command missions, homeland defense and rapid technology evaluations.
In April, the task force reported completing four initial purchases through its C-UAS marketplace, with the $13 million in orders supporting U.S. Central Command, Joint Task Force Southern Border and military services conducting homeland-defense missions. The purchases included low-collateral defeat effectors, radars, sensors and electronic warfare platforms.
The task force has also established broader industry relationships. Perennial Autonomy received a potential $500 million, three-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to support enterprise-wide C-UAS operations. The award covers systems including Merops interceptors, Bumblebee quadcopters and Hornet midrange strike drones, with the company noting that its platforms are already being used by forces operating within U.S. Central Command.
CACI likewise received a three-year, $500 million IDIQ contract to deploy its SkyValor counter-drone technology through JIATF-401. An initial task order covers critical mission sites in the United States and abroad, while the task force had previously ordered four SkyValor units for evaluation.
A separate $80.5 million purchase order with AeroVironment, now operating as AV, covers Titan MS systems under JIATF-401’s Domestic Shield program. The systems are intended to strengthen the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command’s layered defense against small UAS, supporting the broader effort to protect defense-critical infrastructure and other high-priority homeland-defense sites.
