What the Drone Dominance Program announced after Gauntlet II
The Department of War’s Drone Dominance Program named its top five performers in two mission areas on September 15, 2026, and said it will order 60,000 one-way attack drones from them. If you are a founder or BD lead at a drone maker, a munitions or component supplier, or a small business selling into the DIB, this is new-business capture on a five-month clock. The clock starts once orders are signed. Each finalist must deliver 4,000 to 8,000 drones within five months of its order, and the parts must meet a supply chain standard stricter than the NDAA.
Neros holds a slot in both mission areas, so nine companies share ten slots. The Ordered column on the program’s leaderboard is still blank. Quantities are “finalized upon contract award,” and the program says awards are not guaranteed. Gauntlet I carried the same caveat, and all eleven of its finalists then received orders.
| Field | Answer |
|---|---|
| Signal | Ten Gauntlet II finalist slots named September 15, 2026, for a planned 60,000-drone order |
| BD implication | Once orders are signed, ten named prime customers need volume on compliant parts, training support and surge assembly on fixed timelines |
| Customer | Ground combat forces receiving one-way attack drones |
| Buyer | Office of the Secretary of War as sponsor, with Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane as the agreements office |
| Funding | A $1.1 billion four-phase advance market commitment, stated as an anticipated budget; program documents name no appropriation account. Phase II anticipated minimum: $300M. No Gauntlet II obligation yet |
| Vehicle / path | Prototype other transaction delivery orders under 10 U.S.C. 4022, issued through the S2MARTS consortium |
| Incumbents / ecosystem | Eleven Gauntlet I order holders and nine Gauntlet II finalists, with the finalists named below |
| Access strategy | Sub or supplier to a finalist now. Prime through Gauntlet III, since Phase 2.5 closed with 17 named invitees |
| Timing | Orders pending. Phase 2.5 qualifier in October 2026. Gauntlet III roughly six months after Gauntlet II |
| Confidence | High on structure and prices. Medium on final quantities |
| Pursuit posture | PURSUE for component suppliers, TEAM for service firms, TEAM for munitions providers on above-minimum fire sets, SHAPE for Phase III and for drone makers outside the top ten |
| Upgrade triggers | Signed Gauntlet II delivery orders, or a production follow-on awarded without competition |
| Downgrade triggers | Fewer than five orders per mission area, or reduced quantities |
Three facts frame the rest:
- The finalist list is a ranking. It isn’t an award.
- Prices are fixed in advance: $4,500 per Deep Strike drone, $3,500 per Close Quarters Battle drone, $3,250 per munition.
- The program can cut the field below five per mission area and move quantities between ranks.
What each Gauntlet II slot is worth at the posted prices
At posted prices, the ten slots total about $357M, an estimate rather than an obligation. Gauntlet II is the fly-off for the program’s Phase II. Each slot estimate is drones at the posted price, plus a $3,250 munition (a “fire set”) on the 60% minimum share of drones that must carry one. The Phase II request projects quantities by rank in each mission area: 8,000 for first place down to 4,000 for fifth, 30,000 per mission.
| Rank | Deep Strike finalist | Close Quarters finalist | Drones | Deep Strike est. | Close Quarters est. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perennial Autonomy | Neros | 8,000 | $51.6M | $43.6M |
| 2 | Hyperscale | ORQA US | 7,000 | $45.2M | $38.2M |
| 3 | Neros | XTEND Reality | 6,000 | $38.7M | $32.7M |
| 4 | Skycutter | Vector | 5,000 | $32.3M | $27.3M |
| 5 | Swarm Defense Technologies | ModalAI | 4,000 | $25.8M | $21.8M |
The estimates exclude extra fire sets and additional training. A vendor may accept a smaller order than its rank allows, but never below 4,000 units. If you supply a finalist, size your quote to the smaller order, not the headline slot.
How Gauntlet I’s delivery record can still move Drone Dominance orders
Skycutter took first place in Gauntlet I with 99.3 points and a 2,560-drone order. As of September 10, 2026, half of that order had not shipped. The shipped half was still pending inspection, and none had been accepted. Perennial Autonomy had 1,160 of 2,320 drones unshipped and 120 accepted. It still ranked first in Gauntlet II Deep Strike. Gauntlet II’s published scoring categories are event performance, operator evaluations, and production and supply chain capability. None of them names Gauntlet I deliveries.
Neros shipped all 2,400 drones in its Gauntlet I order and earned a 2,000-unit bonus order.
- Across eleven Gauntlet I vendors, 24,320 drones were ordered, including that bonus.
- As of September 10, 13,360 had been accepted, 6,160 were pending inspection, and 4,240 had not shipped. One vendor’s posted row leaves 560 shipped drones in neither status.
- Four vendors account for every unshipped drone: Skycutter, Perennial Autonomy, Auterion and Farage Precision.
- A 5,680-drone bonus pool remains, awarded on delivery performance.
Two written mechanisms tie delivery to money: the bonus pool and the rule quoted above. Half of each Phase II order is due within 2.5 months and the rest within five. A drone delivered between five and eight months loses 20% of its payment. Past eight months, the government may cancel. A completed prototype order may lead to a follow-on production contract or other transaction without further competition. For a drone maker, I’d weigh a clean delivery record alongside the next test score. Payment, cancellation and follow-on eligibility all run through it.
Where suppliers and subcontractors fit in the 60,000-drone order
Component suppliers, DIB subs and service firms can sell into named buyers before any new competition opens. Each finalist attested parts-list compliance at application and was scored on supply chain compliance. The near-term need is volume on compliant parts. The longer need is parts that meet the next phase’s tighter minimum. Noncompliant deliveries can be rejected with payment forfeited. That gives finalists little reason to swap a proven part mid-order, so a new supplier’s best near-term opening is surge or second-source volume.
The program’s supply chain framework treats the NDAA as a floor. Phase II adds a rule that batteries and motors must come from non-covered countries. Each phase’s “preferred” column becomes the next phase’s minimum. DCMA verifies compliance with third-party assessors.
The prototype order carries more than airframes:
- Fire sets on at least 60% of drones, split 75% lethal and 25% training payloads.
- Durable equipment at one set per 20 drones, including ground control and any relay or ISR drones, plus 5% spares.
- Night vision on at least 20% of systems.
- Six CONUS training sessions per vendor, priced inside the unit cost.
Munitions are a narrower opening. Every finalist flew an integrated munition at Gauntlet II. The program lists eight munitions providers used by Phase II finalists: prize challenge winners Bravo Ordnance, Kela Defense, Kraken Kinetics, Mountain Horse and Northrop Grumman, plus Perennial Autonomy, Vector/Nammo and XTEND Reality. A new munitions provider’s Phase II opening is fire sets above the 60% minimum, where the request encourages a third provider. The request also plans a two-provider rule for Phase III, with details subject to change.
DIB compliance is a condition of award: the finalist must hold CMMC Level 2 self-assessment. The request expects Phase III orders to require third-party Level 2 certification. A subcontractor needs Level 1 if it processes federal contract information. It needs Level 2 only if it processes controlled unclassified information.
- Map your bill of materials against the framework’s Phase 3 minimum column, which is the Phase 2 preferred column today.
- Identify which finalists buy your component class, starting with the five in your mission area.
- Offer delivery against a 2.5-month first-batch window, since that is the finalist’s own deadline.
- Confirm your CMMC Level 2 status before you handle controlled unclassified information for a finalist.
- Check every battery, motor, flight controller and radio in your product against non-covered-country sourcing.
- Confirm you can show a finalist a recent, completed production order at volume.
- Record whether you qualify as a nontraditional defense contractor, since other transaction eligibility turns on it.
- Price surge capacity for a 4,000-unit order delivered in five months.
Who is already positioned, and the separate Army pathway
Eleven vendors hold Gauntlet I orders. Nine hold Gauntlet II finalist slots. Ten more companies competed in Gauntlet II without placing and remain eligible for later rounds. For a market entrant from commercial drones, that list is the field to beat. It includes Auterion Government Solutions, Griffon Aerospace, Teal Drones and UDD Tech Corp. On the service side, EdgeSource holds a $202,112 obligated Army order for recognized assessor work supporting the Gauntlet.
The Army runs a separate acquisition environment. Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal established at least 25 basic ordering agreements between January and June 2026 citing the same executive order. Holders include Anduril, AeroVironment, Skydio, Griffon Aerospace and Teal Drones. Griffon, which placed in neither Gauntlet II top five, holds a $67.9M obligated order under that pathway from June 3, 2026. Treat the two as separate buyers with separate acquisition vehicles. No open on-ramp to new Redstone agreements is identified, so Redstone is a parallel buyer to watch.
Drone Dominance orders do not appear in public award records under the drone makers’ own names. Orders are awarded through NSTXL, the consortium manager. Consortium-brokered other transactions typically record the consortium manager as awardee. The missing names point to a reporting pattern, not unfunded orders.
What to do before the Gauntlet II orders are signed
The next open competition is Gauntlet III, about six months after Gauntlet II, then Gauntlet IV about six months later. Phase 2.5, for reusable bomber and dropper drones, is already closed: its October 2026 qualifier has 17 named invitees. The request plans rising volume and tighter requirements in each phase, with details subject to change.
For component suppliers, pursue the finalists now. Their delivery clocks start at order signature. For munitions providers, shape a Phase III position and offer fire sets above the 60% minimum. For small service firms and systems integrators, team with finalists on training, spares management and CMMC readiness. Drone makers outside the top ten should shape their Gauntlet III bid around delivery capacity and Phase 3 sourcing. Prove you can fill a 120-drone order in about five weeks, as every Gauntlet II invitee had to. For mid-market manufacturers, offer surge assembly as a subcontractor to a finalist rather than bidding as a prime. Signed Gauntlet II quantities are the event that turns this positioning into purchase orders.
FAQ
Has the Pentagon actually ordered the 60,000 drones yet?
No. As of September 23, 2026, the Gauntlet II Ordered column is empty and quantities will be set at contract award. Gauntlet I orders, by contrast, are placed and partly delivered.
Who signs the Drone Dominance orders, and under what authority?
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane is the agreements office, and orders are prototype other transactions under 10 U.S.C. 4022. The Office of the Secretary of War sponsors the program. The Test Resource Management Center runs the Gauntlet events.
Can a traditional defense contractor win a Drone Dominance order?
Yes, if the deal meets one of three conditions. Other transaction eligibility requires a nontraditional defense contractor participating to a significant extent, all-small-business or nontraditional participants, or a one-third cost share. In practice, a traditional contractor either teams with a drone maker that qualifies as a nontraditional entrant or funds a third of the project.
What data rights does the government take?
The government takes limited rights. It can use technical data inside the government. It can’t use that data for manufacture or release it outside without the vendor’s permission, except in narrow cases such as emergency repair.
What would make this program smaller than 60,000 drones?
The program would shrink if it selected fewer than five vendors per mission area or cut quantities. The Phase II request allows both.
Where does a drone maker that missed Gauntlet II go next?
Its next open competition is Gauntlet III, about six months after Gauntlet II. Phase 2.5 closed with 17 named invitees on September 21, 2026.
