Army selects Anduril, Performance Drone Works for first tranche of company-level SUAS requirement

The Army has selected Anduril Industries’ Ghost X and Performance Drone Works’ C-100 for the first tranche of the service’s new company-level small uncrewed aircraft system directed requirement, the Program Executive Office for Aviation announced Wednesday.

The Army approved the directed requirement in June 2023 to “deliver immediate, commercially available capability to meet operational requirements” in support of brigade combat teams, according to the service.

The small UAS directed requirement enables maneuver companies to “conduct multiple tasks with rapidly reconfigurable, attritable, modular payload capabilities to execute reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition missions.”

The directed requirement is based on recent observations made during the Ukraine and Gaza wars, according to Gen. James Rainey, commanding general of Army Futures Command.

“This requirement describes the importance of considering the UAS as a system, not just an air vehicle, and also highlights the importance of adaptability,” he said in a statement.

The award has a value of $14.4 million and uses the Defense Logistics Agency’s Tailored Logistics Support 10-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, according to the Army.

Both the Ghost X and the C-100 are on the Defense Innovation Unit’s blue list for commercial drones -- those that have been vetted in accordance with compliance requirements set by the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. Additionally, the Army received funding from DIU to “accelerate” the company level SUAS program.

Soldiers experimented with Ghost drones during the Army’s recent Transformation in Contact exercise at Ft. Johnson, LA last month -- a new Army approach in which soldiers experiment with and give feedback on new technologies, including drones. Alex Miller, the chief science and technology adviser to the chief of staff, said at the time the Ghost is an example of the type of drone the Army was considering for equipping the company level.

Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said in a statement Wednesday that this recent award is an example of how the service intends to transform in contact.

“Transforming in contact is the way our Army can adapt its formations and get new technology in the hands of soldiers to experiment, innovate, learn, and change at the pace required. The Company Level Small UAS Directed Requirement effort is a great example of how we are achieving this,” he said.