Overview
- The Pentagon posted a Request for Information outlining $1 billion in fixed‑price buys over four phases, targeting roughly 340,000 small attritable drones over two years.
- Industry responses to the RFI are due Dec. 10, with a Request for Solutions expected Dec. 17 to select participants for the first Gauntlet event in February 2026.
- Phase one runs Feb.–July 2026 with about 25 invited vendors and up to 12 producing 30,000 drones at about $5,000 each, scaling to 150,000 units at roughly $2,300 each from five vendors by early 2028.
- Contracts pay only for delivered, inspected units under 10 U.S.C. 4022, vendors assume development and manufacturing risk, and performance results will be posted on a public leader board.
- Evaluation centers on two missions—a 10 km open‑terrain strike and a 1 km urban strike with a minimum 2 kg payload—with later phases adding tougher counter‑UAS challenges as the Pentagon decentralizes small‑drone procurement and treats some systems as consumables.