The Pentagon is embracing a transformative approach to its military capabilities by engaging with non-traditional defense contractors to develop a new generation of affordable drones and standardizing its relationship with the commercial space sector to enhance national security.
In a landmark move, the Pentagon has selected four innovative companies, chosen from over a hundred applicants — Anduril Industries, Integrated Solutions for Systems, Leidos Dynetics, and Zone 5 Technologies — to create an “enterprise test vehicle” (ETV) drone that can be constructed rapidly and at a lower cost than current methods allow.
The Defense Innovation Unit announced that these drones are expected to achieve at least 500 nautical miles in range, deliver kinetic payloads, and utilize commercially available subsystems. The move away from “exquisite components” and “labor-intensive manufacturing processes” towards commercial off-the-shelf parts and modern manufacturing design is aimed at reducing production times and costs.
Cassie Johnson, the armament directorate’s ETV program manager, emphasized the significance of this initiative, stating, “While the Armament Directorate remains committed to our highly-capable legacy products, we have become convinced that widening the aperture to include more non-traditional aerospace companies offers the best chance at accomplishing our cost-per-unit goals, project timeline, and production quantity goals.”
Test flights are scheduled for later this summer and fall, with the goal of selecting at least one prototype for further development towards a production variant. These drones could become part of the Pentagon’s Replicator program, which aims to mass-produce thousands of low-cost drones.
Reflecting on the program’s potential, Jason Levin, senior vice president of Anduril’s air dominance & strike division, declared, “We look forward to working with our partners at DIU and the Air Force Armament Directorate to deliver a highly-producible, modular, affordable, and capable Enterprise Test Vehicle that will serve as the baseline architecture for large-scale production of next-generation airborne platforms.”
Similarly, the Pentagon is keen on revolutionizing its relationship with space companies through a comprehensive strategy that aligns with its national security goals. This strategy aims to capitalize on the rapid expansion and innovation in the commercial space sector to ensure that defense mechanisms remain robust and adaptable.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, Dr. John Plumb, acknowledged the necessity of this strategy, citing the critical changes in the national security space environment and the benefits of aligning with U.S. commercial space innovations. “We have to get the best use of your taxpayer dollars and move as quickly as we could to keep up in this at this critical time,” Plumb stated.
Relevant articles:
– Pentagon looks beyond primes for cheaper drones, Defense One
– Pentagon looks to standardize its relationship with space companies, Federal News Network