Drone Dominance Program Phase I - Request for Solutions

2026-11-03

Drones are reshaping the character of war . To meet this change , the Department of War ( DoW ) must provide our ground combat forces with the tools needed to locate , close with , and destroy the enemy in close combat . The DoW must provide one - way attack ( OWA ) small unmanned aerial systems ( sUAS ) to end users at low cost , at scale and from a supply chain that is resilient . Historically , traditional requirements and acquisition timelines have not supported the needs of our warfighters , the Services , or Combatant Commands . The Drone Dominance Program ( DDP ) intends to award $ 1 . 1 billion in prototype orders utilizing 10 U . S . C . 4022 over four independent phases in the next two years . This multi - phase plan is an advanced market commitment : the Department is posting quantities and prices up front and will award fixed price prototype deliveries with vendors whose systems meet the Gauntlet performance and delivery requirements . Each phase begins with a Gauntlet test event , run by the Test Resource Management Center , and ends with delivery of sUAS via an Other Transaction – Prototype delivery award for the winners of the Gauntlet . This program represents a fundamental shift in acquisition strategy . Rather than purchasing systems based on paper requirements , the DoW intends to buy demonstrated capabilities through live competition . The Gauntlet events are designed to test capabilities . The awards are intended to test production scale and operational use . Each phase will introduce new operational challenges requiring improvements in capabilities . At each phase , the number of drones purchased will increase , the price per unit will decrease ( with the exception of Phase II ), and the number of vendors receiving prototype delivery orders will decrease . The Department intends to buy commercial technologies for novel applications supporting defense purposes . Vendors will bear development and manufacturing risk . The Government will pay a fixed price only for units that are delivered and determined acceptable . The Drone Dominance Website , linked below , contains information on how the DDP originated and more on how to respond to this RFS .

Indiana

2026-04-08