Thursday, March 20, 2025
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Startups Mistral and Zoltix are set to receive awards totaling $150,000 for their first-place solutions in a challenge hosted by the Defense Innovation Unit and the Singapore's Ministry of Defense, which sought dual-use technologies to scale in support of two operational demands for drone warfare, the DIU announced Wednesday.
The challenge, launched in September, marked the first collaboration resulting from a “Memorandum of Understanding for Defense Innovation Cooperation” between the Singapore MINDEF and U.S. Defense Department in May.
The U.S.-Singapore Joint Innovation Challenge was also divided into two parts by the types of technologies sought. One pursued countermeasure technology that would enable ships operating close to shore to continuously spot, identify and disrupt unauthorized unmanned aerial systems. The second part sought technology providing resilient communications for small commercial drones during humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.
Mistral placed first in the former category, receiving $80,000 for its CUAS Victus C2 Gateway solution, which combined detection, tracking and disruption technologies into a single package, according to the DIU release.
“A standout feature of Mistral’s solution is its ability to integrate with existing defense systems,” DIU said, “avoiding the creation of proprietary silos and ensuring compatibility with current operational tools.”
Zoltix took first place for the latter category, earning them an award of $70,000 with its adaptive communication system allowing small commercial drones to maintain secure and resilient connections in radio frequency-contested environments, according to the release.
“The system’s ability to dynamically sense and adjust frequencies addresses a critical need for reliable drone communications during [Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief] missions and in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) challenged environments,” DIU said.
Like Mistral’s solution, Zoltix’s technology was also able to integrate with existing defense systems, the release said.
The challenge also granted awards to four other companies -- totaling $130,000 combined, according to the release.
Black River Systems Company Inc. and Aurelius Systems received awards for their solutions enabling counter-drone capabilities for ships operating close to shore.
Domo Tactical Communications (DTC) and TILT Autonomy received awards for their solutions providing resilient communications capabilities for small commercial drones during humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.