U.S.-based drone companies AeroVironment and Dragoon, as well as U.S.-based software firms Swan and Auterion, were chosen to compete in the project called Artemis, DIU said in a news release. Notably, the two software companies are each partnering with separate unnamed Ukrainian drone manufacturers.

DIU initiated Artemis in response to a congressional mandate, which directed operational testing of low-cost loitering munitions that can fly in electromagnetic contested environments and be deployed in large numbers. The unit wants to have a successful prototype by the end of fiscal 2025.

“We are excited about the non-traditional companies who are providing low-cost, adaptable, long-range, UAS platforms with the potential to maximize operational flexibility for the Joint force,” Trent Emeneker, DIU’s Artemis program manager and contractor, said in a statement. “This was the intent of Congress’ direction to rethink how to get capabilities to the warfighter at speed and scale that can deliver much faster than traditional Programs of Record.”

After releasing a solicitation in October 2024, DIU and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment evaluated 165 proposals from vendors, held flight demonstrations and then down-selected to four industry teams, according to DIU.

With contracts in place, “the next step is meeting an aggressive testing and integration schedule to complete prototyping and demonstrate success by the end of May 2025,” DIU stated in a release.

The solicitation called for one-way, ground-launched drones from commercial vendors with an operational range of 50 to 300 kilometers or more. DIU wants Artemis prototypes that can carry a 10-plus kilogram payload more than 50 kilometers, and are “capable of supporting high-speed, low-altitude, beyond line of sight flight operations in [disrupted, disconnected, intermittent, and low-bandwidth] environments,” according to the RFP. Ideally, the organization would like the drones to be able to carry a 25-plus kilogram payload upwards of 300 kilometers.

Officials emphasized the Artemis program is directly linked to emerging trends on modern battlefields. Throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, inexpensive kamikaze drones from commercial vendors have provided warfighters on both sides with key capabilities. In the Middle East, Iranian-backed Houthis launched multiple complex attacks on U.S. Naval forces stationed in the Red Sea last year, as well.

“With Artemis, DIU and A&S are moving rapidly to provide an option for Services and Combatant Commands to choose from, delivered years in advance of current Program of Record timeframes,” DIU stated in a release.

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On Tuesday evening, the Defense Department announced that the Army awarded a deal to the company for an “organic, stand-off capability” for dismounted infantry units to destroy tanks, light armored vehicles, hardened targets and enemy personnel. However, it didn’t identify which specific system the service was buying.

“We have no additional information to provide at this time, beyond what is reflected in the initial contract announcement,” a DOD spokesperson told DefenseScoop in an email Wednesday.

But then AeroVironment confirmed in a release on Wednesday that the agreement is for Switchblade drones to meet a “Lethal Unmanned Systems” requirement for the Army. DefenseScoop was later told that both the Switchblade 300 and 600 variants will be provided to the Army under the IDIQ contract.

Deliveries are expected to start in “months,” according to an AeroVironment release.

“AV is proud to have been selected to provide Switchblade for this critical and urgent Army requirement,” Brett Hush, the company’s senior vice president and general manager of loitering munition systems, said in a statement. “Starting with the LUS Directed Requirement, we are well positioned to meet the Army’s emerging needs, leveraging our robust production capability and supply chain capacity to ensure rapid fielding and enhanced combat overmatch for our soldiers.”

Unlike traditional munitions, loitering munitions — also known as kamikaze drones or one-way-attack unmanned aerial systems — can fly around until they identify a target. They destroy their target by crashing into it, and they can be armed with a warhead to enhance their potency.

Funding under the five-year deal will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 26, 2029, according to DOD’s announcement.

DefenseScoop reached out to a strategic communications director for Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Doug Bush for comment about the latest award. An Army official directed DefenseScoop’s query to the spokesperson in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

The Switchblade 600 carries high-precision optics and an anti-armor warhead. It has upwards of 40 minutes of loitering endurance, a range of 40-plus kilometers, and a “sprint speed” of 185 kilometers per hour, according to a product description from the vendor. The all-up round weighs 65 pounds.

“As an all-in-one, man-portable solution, Switchblade 600 includes everything required to successfully plan and execute missions and can be set up and operational in less than 10 minutes. Equipped with class-leading, high-resolution EO/IR gimbaled sensors and advanced precision flight control, Switchblade 600 empowers the warfighter with quick and easy deployment via tube-launch, and the capability to fly, track and engage non-line-of-sight targets and armored vehicles with precision lethal effects without the need for external ISR or fires assets,” according to a company product description.

“Patented wave-off and recommit capability allows operators to abort the mission at any time and then re-engage either the same or other targets multiple times based on operator command,” per the description.

Meanwhile, the tube-launched Switchblade 300 Block 20 can be deployed in less than 2 minutes and has a range of 30 kilometers, upwards of 20 minutes endurance, and a “sprint speed” of 161 kilometers per hour. The all-up round weighs only about 7 pounds, according to a product description.

“Cursor-on-target GPS coordinates provide situational awareness, information collection, targeting and feature/object recognition, that together deliver the actionable intelligence and precision firepower needed to achieve mission success across multiple domains,” per the description.

The Army is pursuing the Switchblade 600 for the initial increment of its Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program. The service requested $120.6 million to procure LASSO production systems in fiscal 2025 as the U.S. military moves to beef up its arsenal of loitering munitions.

Acquisition of the Switchblade 600 is also being accelerated under the Pentagon’s Replicator initiative, which aims to field multiple thousands of autonomous systems by August 2025 to counter China’s military buildup in the Indo-Pacific. Plans call for purchasing more than 1,000 Switchblades to support Replicator, Gen. James Mingus, the Army’s vice chief of staff, told lawmakers in June.

AeroVironment is already delivering Switchblades to the Army under a contract awarded in December 2023 to help meet the service’s Lethal Unmanned Systems-directed requirement, according to the company.

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The Defense Department’s Chief Technology Officer and Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Bill LaPlante and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology Doug Bush are set to meet with experts from AeroVironment at the facility while they are in California for the annual Reagan National Defense Forum.

AeroVironment produces a variety of uncrewed platforms, including small- and medium-sized unmanned aerial systems, robotic ground vehicles and loitering munitions like the Switchblade family of kamikaze drones.

U.S. Army units have been training with and employing AeroVironment UAS, and the service has purchased multiple variants of Switchblade systems, which are one-way attack drones that are designed to destroy their targets by crashing directly into them.

The Biden administration has also committed to arming Ukraine with hundreds of Switchblades to deploy against Russian forces, and it’s been considering a recent capabilities request that Israel submitted for assistance to defeat Hamas that includes 200 Switchblade 600s.

While sources confirmed to DefenseScoop on Tuesday that the three senior Pentagon officials would be engaging with AeroVironment staff at the Simi Valley plant, they would not speak to the nature of this visit — or verify what’s on the discussion agenda. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

Shyu, LaPlante and Bush are expected to meet with other DOD technology providers while on the West Coast, as well.

“We have no details to provide regarding possible senior leader engagements at this time,” a Pentagon spokesperson told DefenseScoop.

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The high-tech loitering munitions were included among other capabilities Israeli leadership explicitly asked their American counterparts for on or before Oct. 30, according to a Pentagon document obtained by DefenseScoop and multiple officials who confirmed this request on the condition of anonymity.

It’s unclear how long it will take U.S. agencies to make a decision on the inquiry — or when the advanced capabilities would be delivered to Israel, if approved.

Produced by drone manufacturer AeroVironment, Switchblade 600s are designed to destroy armored vehicles and other targets in multi-domain operations. U.S. Army units recently moved to experiment with these kamikaze drones, which have a 24-mile range, 40 minutes of loitering endurance and can move at speeds of up to 115 miles per hour. 

“Equipped with class-leading, high-resolution EO/IR gimbaled sensors and advanced precision flight control, Switchblade 600 empowers the warfighter with quick and easy deployment via tube-launch, and the capability to fly, track and engage non-line-of-sight targets and armored vehicles with precision lethal effects without the need for external [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] or fires assets,” according to an AeroVironment product description.

“Patented wave-off and recommit capability allows operators to abort the mission at any time and then re-engage either the same or other targets multiple times based on operator command,” it added. 

AeroVironment has not shared the price for a Switchblade 600 publicly — but budget documents reveal that the company’s smaller, Switchblade 300 system, might cost around $80,000 each.

The Biden administration has positioned the U.S. as a staunch supporter of Israel, since the country was ambushed by the Palestine-based militant group Hamas on Oct. 7 and suffered more than 1,400 fatalities. However, it has repeatedly declined to confirm key details about the military supplies and aid it has supplied to Israel, since then. 

The Pentagon on Monday acknowledged that thousands of civilians have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war started last month. 

“We don’t put conditions on assistance given to Israel. What I can tell you is that anytime a country like Israel is receiving arms or military support from the United States, we expect them to comply with international humanitarian law,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told DefenseScoop during a briefing on Tuesday.

DefenseScoop has asked the U.S. National Security Council and Israel’s Ministry of Defense for more information regarding the request for Switchblade 600s, and is waiting to hear back.

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An unspecified number of Puma drones, manufactured by AeroVironment, were included in the latest security assistance package, valued at $2.1 billion, that was announced by the Pentagon on Friday.

The small UAS, which can be hand-launched, are designed to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. These types of technologies have played a critical role in helping Ukraine’s military locate and target Russian forces.

The U.S. Army also uses Puma drones to aid in its missions.

The Defense Department announcement did not specify which variant of the Puma was included in the package. A DOD spokesperson told DefenseScoop that additional details could not be provided at this time as contracts have yet to be completed.

The Puma is one of many unmanned aerial systems that the Biden administration has committed to Kyiv since Moscow’s invasion last year. Others include the ScanEagle, CyberLux K8, Altius-600, Jump-20, Switchblade and Phoenix Ghost. The Switchblade and Phoenix Ghost are kamikaze drones that are designed to loiter until they find a suitable target and then destroy it by crashing into it.

The U.S. has also provided a slew of counter-UAS and other air defense systems to help Ukraine fend off Russian unmanned systems, missiles and planes during the massive drone war.

Other capabilities in the security assistance package announced Friday include additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems, HAWK air defense systems and missiles, 105mm and 203mm artillery rounds, laser-guided rocket system munitions, and support for training, maintenance and sustainment activities.

Notably, all of the weapons in the new package will be procured from contractors using Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds — not drawn from existing DOD stocks — which means it could take many months for them to be manufactured and delivered to Ukraine.

“This USAI package illustrates the continued commitment to both Ukraine’s critical near-term capabilities as well as the enduring capacity of Ukraine’s Armed Forces to defend its territory and deter Russian aggression over the long term,” the Pentagon said in a release.

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The $2 billion security assistance package announced by the Pentagon on Friday includes an unspecified quantity of JUMP 20, Switchblade 600, ALTIUS-600 and CyberLux K8 unmanned aerial systems.

The JUMP 20 is a fixed wing, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) platform that can provide “advanced multi-sensor” intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, according to manufacturer AeroVironment.

The drone has 14-plus hours of endurance, a range of 115 miles, and payload capacity of up to 30 pounds, and can be equipped with imaging sensors such as ARCAM 45D, long range EO/MWIR as well as onboard tracking, stabilization and video processing. The “runway independent” system can be set up and operational in less than an hour without the need for launch or recovery equipment, according to the company.

The ALTIUS-600, made by AREA-I, is a tube-launched drone that can be deployed from ground vehicles, aircraft, or naval platforms. It has an endurance of three to four hours and can cover distances over 200 nautical miles, with mission-specific payload configurations that can contribute to ISR, electronic warfare, counter-UAS or “kinetic” actions, according to the company.

“ALTIUS was designed with a modular payload nose to give customers an on-demand UAS solution with a sensor or payload package to meet specific mission needs,” the company said in a product description.

The Switchblade 600 is a kamikaze drone, or loitering munition, that attacks its target by crashing into it. The system weighs 120 pounds, has a 40-plus kilometer range, 40-plus minutes endurance, and a “dash” speed of 115 mph, according to manufacturer AeroVironment.

The weapon can be set up and operational in less than 10 minutes, according to the company.

“Equipped with class-leading, high-resolution EO/IR gimbaled sensors and advanced precision flight control, Switchblade 600 empowers the warfighter with quick and easy deployment via tube-launch, and the capability to fly, track and engage non-line-of-sight targets and armored vehicles with precision lethal effects without the need for external ISR or fires assets,” per the product description. “Patented wave-off and recommit capability allows operators to abort the mission at any time and then re-engage either the same or other targets multiple times based on operator command.”

Little information was immediately available about the CyberLux K8, and DefenseScoop will provide an update when it learns more about the system.

Previous security assistance package for Ukraine also included drones. As of Feb. 20, the U.S. had committing to providing more than 700 Switchblades, approximately 1,800 Phoenix Ghost loitering munitions, 15 ScanEagle systems, and an unspecified number Puma UAS, according to a Defense Department fact sheet.

The Biden administration has committed more than $32 billion in security assistance to Ukraine over the past year, according to the Pentagon.

The security assistance package for Ukraine announced on Friday also includes counter-UAS and electronic warfare detection equipment; additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); additional 155mm artillery rounds; munitions for laser-guided rocket systems; mine clearing equipment; secure communications support equipment; and funding for training, maintenance and sustainment.

All of the weapons in the new package will be procured from contractors using Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds — not drawn from existing DOD stocks — which means it could take many months for them to be manufactured and delivered to Ukraine.

“Today’s solemn anniversary is an opportunity for all who believe in freedom, rules, and sovereignty to recommit ourselves to supporting Ukraine’s brave defenders for the long haul — and to recall that the stakes of Russia’s war stretch far beyond Ukraine,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement Friday.

“Putin thought that Ukraine’s defenses would collapse, that America’s resolve would falter, and that the world would look the other way. He was wrong. One year later, Ukraine’s brave defenders have not wavered, and neither has our commitment to support them for as long as it takes,” Austin added.

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