Drones from Ukrainian manufacturer F-drones advance to second stage of Pentagon's competition
A drone from the Ukrainian manufacturer F-drones, which won the first stage of the Drone Dominance competition announced by the Pentagon, has also been selected to participate in the second stage. It was reported on the competition’s website, according to lb.ua.
The Ukrainian drone was represented in the competition by UDD Tech Corp.
"The American company UDD Tech Corp, which, following the results of the first round of the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance competition, received an order for 2,000 Ukrainian drones manufactured by F-Drones, has been selected to advance to the second phase of the program—Gauntlet II. The selection was based on the results of the qualification phase at Camp Greiling in Michigan, where 49 companies tested 79 unmanned systems in scenarios involving long-range strikes and operations in urban environments," the publication states.
The Gauntlet II competition will begin in late summer, with 19 companies participating.
Previously, UDD Tech was among the winners of the first phase of the Drone Dominance competition, which took place in February at Fort Benning (Georgia), which selected the drones that performed best in long-range strike and urban combat scenarios. UDD Tech presented the F10 strike FPV drone from Ukrainian manufacturer F-Drones at the competition—a platform with over three years of combat experience in Ukraine. It placed sixth among 25 participants. Based on the competition results, the Pentagon ordered 2,000 Ukrainian drones under a prototype contract.
The second phase of the competition will evaluate nighttime operations and more complex urban and enclosed environments. The competition will be held in two categories: long-range strike systems (up to 20 km) and drones for close-quarters combat indoors. Based on the results of the second phase of the competition, the Pentagon plans to order an additional 60,000 drones.
After winning the first round of the competition, UDD Tech Corp announced the construction of an assembly plant with 300 jobs in Holland, Ohio. The investment totals USD 18.4 million.
The Drone Dominance Program is a two-year, USD 1.1 billion initiative by the US Department of Defense, under which more than 200,000 low-cost strike drones are planned to be procured by 2027 to equip the US Army.