Pentagon Launches 120-Day “Sprint” to Field Counter-UAS Armed USVs – Naval News

Pentagon Launches 120-Day “Sprint” to Field Counter-UAS Armed USVs  Naval News

The Pentagon and DIU launched a 120-day sprint to acquire and field new counter-UAS armed USVs to defend surface fleets against low-cost drone threats. Home » Pentagon Launches 120-Day “Sprint” to Field Counter-UAS Armed USVs The Pentagon and Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is searching for new uncrewed vessels capable of engaging a broad number of low-cost adversary aerial and maritime weapon systems that the unit says should be ready for operational fielding in the next four months, according to a new search announced Oct. 19. The search, launched in partnership with the Pentagon’s Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems (DRPM UxS), opens the door for rapid acquisition and fielding of new counter-air and counter-surface unmanned surface vessels (USVs) in the next 120 days for further forward deployment to combat theaters.

“The cost-exchange ratio for detecting and neutralizing asymmetric maritime and airborne threats in contested environments is heavily skewed in favor of the adversary,” the DIU says in its solicitation. “Low-cost, low-signature threats—including explosive Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs), Group 1–3 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), attack helicopters, go-fast vessels, and low-flying aerial vectors—directly threaten surface-fleet operations.” The solicitation seeks production-ready USVs capable of integrating existing counter-air weapons, including the AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire, AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM), Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) and Stinger missiles, to interdict those threats. The