DIU, NorthCom partner up to confront the military’s ‘most pressing’ counter-drone challenges
By
Brandi Vincent
May 5, 2025
The Defense Innovation Unit and U.S. Northern Command are set to launch two opportunities Monday that are designed to accelerate the military’s access to capabilities that can detect, track and counter certain enemy drones, while reducing risks to people and assets on the ground.
In a press release and conversations over email, officials unveiled a new prize challenge for low-cost sensing technologies to enhance counter unmanned aerial systems and — in partnership with the Joint Counter-small UAS Office — a new solicitation for “low-collateral defeat options” that can be quickly integrated into existing C-sUAS programs of record across the joint force via the Replicator initiative.
“DIU’s low-cost sensing prize challenge combined with the LCD [solicitation] are a part of the overall strategic push to get after the toughest challenges and most pressing C-UAS problems identified by the warfighter,” David Payne, the unit’s C-UAS program manager, told DefenseScoop.
The new announcement marks the latest move associated with the Defense Department’s high-stakes — but hush-hush — Replicator effort.
https://defensescoop.com/2025/05/05/diu-northcom-partner-up-to-confront-the-militarys-most-pressing-counter-drone-challenges/
