The Department of Defense awarded two new contracts to acquire artificial intelligence-driven interceptor drones intended to help U.S. forces counter small, unmanned aerial systems, the first acquisitions as part of the second phase of the Pentagon’s Replicator program.
The first contracts will be awarded to two advanced DroneHunter F700 systems expected to be deployed by April, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. The drones are designed to detect and capture small drones in a variety of environments using AI, radar and tethered nets.
“This is one example that demonstrates how JIATF 401 has taken counter-drone efforts from a community of interest to a community of action,” said Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, who leads the Joint Interagency Task Force 401. “The task force is focused on a whole-of-government approach, working with interagency partners and industry to build a layered defense against the full spectrum of small UAS threats to the homeland.”
The Replicator program, first launched in 2023, is a Pentagon initiative to rapidly deliver “innovative capabilities” to troops. The first phase of the program focused on the development and delivery of autonomous systems across several areas, while phase two has focused exclusively on acquiring anti-drone technology.
The Joint Interagency Task Force 401 has taken the lead on the program and has moved to cut interagency “red tape” to deliver capabilities quickly, the Department of Defense said in a statement.
“We have just one measure of effectiveness: to deliver state-of-the-art counter-UAS capabilities to our warfighters both at home and abroad. This purchase of the DroneHunter system is a key first step in accomplishing our Replicator 2 mission,” Gen. Ross said in a statement.
The acquisition comes after weeks of speculation over the actual success of the Replicator program’s promise to field “multiple thousands” of attritable autonomous systems by August 2025. Investigations by The Washington Times last year found that the program had actually only succeeded in fielding hundreds of drones, though the exact number is classified.
Replicator is now inside a “Defense Autonomous Warfare Group” housed within the U.S. Special Operations Command. The program was initially under the control of the Defense Innovation Unit.
The program’s advancement also comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continues to rail against bureaucratic roadblocks that he says stand in the way of delivering capabilities to soldiers. At a speech at SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in Texas on Monday, Mr. Hegseth reasserted his intentions to remake the Pentagon’s acquisition process.
“We will take a wartime approach to people and policies that block this progress,” Mr. Hegseth said. “Barriers to data sharing, authority to operate … test and evaluation and contracting are now treated as operational risks, not simply bureaucratic inconveniences; we are blowing up these barriers.”
• John T. Seward contributed to this article.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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