The U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has announced contracts with 4 companies to develop prototypes of long-range disposable drones capable of rapid launch, carrying various payloads, and operating in low-bandwidth environments. Two of the companies are unnamed Ukrainian firms.
They will compete against U.S. companies Dragoon and AeroVironment. Each Ukrainian manufacturer is partnering with an American software development company—one with Swan and the other with Auterion, according to Defense News.
All four companies will conduct capability demonstrations in April and May, after which DIU will make its selection.
The Artemis programme was initiated last year by Congress in response to requests from U.S. European and Indo-Pacific Command operators who need cost-effective expendable drones and counter-drone measures. Under a supplementary funding package for Ukraine, lawmakers allocated approximately $35 million to the U.S. Department of Defense to identify and test affordable drone systems capable of navigation and communication despite electronic warfare (EW) and spoofing.
The goal is to act swiftly and demonstrate that these systems can be operational much faster than traditional multi-year defense procurement programmes. According to Trent Emenegger, head of procurement and sustainment at the Pentagon, in August last year, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Intelligence Directorate delegated the request for drones to DIU.
