The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), in partnership with U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and U.S. Army leadership, has selected ten companies as finalists in its Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft System (C-sUAS) Low-Cost Sensing challenge. The finalists were chosen from a competitive field of 118 submissions and will now proceed to a critical live-demonstration phase.
The challenge addresses a pressing Department of Defense (DOD) need for affordable, scalable sensors to detect small drones. The goal is to complement existing, more expensive systems by creating a distributed network of sensors that can provide wide-area coverage and resilient threat identification.
“To stay ahead of evolving drone threats, we must leverage every advantage—from cutting-edge commercial technology to strong cross-sector partnerships,” stated DIU Director Doug Beck. “This initiative is key to delivering cost-effective, scalable sensing solutions that allow our forces to identify and counter threats with greater speed and precision.”
The selected proposals showcase a diverse array of technological approaches, including passive radio frequency detection, advanced radar, acoustic sensing, and optical and infrared cameras. Many solutions combine multiple sensing methods. A key benefit of these systems is their potential for significant cost savings, with estimates suggesting they could reduce the total ownership cost by 50-80% compared to current DOD systems.
The ten companies advancing are:
- BLUEiQ
- CHAOS 1
- Fortem Technologies
- Guardian RF
- Hidden Level
- MatrixSpace
- REVOBEAM
- Squarehead Technology
- Teledyne FLIR Defense
- Thalrix
The finalists will now rigorously test their technologies during USNORTHCOM’s Falcon Peak 25.2 exercise in September. This exercise provides a realistic operational environment to evaluate performance. A prize purse will be awarded based on the results, and top performers may be considered for follow-on contracts and rapid transition programs to fast-track the best technologies to military users.
