The Pentagon's counter-drone task force has awarded a contract worth up to $500 million to Perennial Autonomy, a defense company best known for an interceptor that has downed thousands of one-way attack drones in Ukraine. The deal reflects the U.S. military's accelerating push to field affordable systems capable of knocking down cheap, mass-produced drones.
Inside the contract
Joint Interagency Task Force 401 announced the three-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity award, which carries a $500 million ceiling. Under it, Perennial Autonomy is expected to deliver AI-enabled counter-UAS systems including the Bumblebee quadcopter, the Hornet midrange strike drone, and the Merops air-to-air interceptor. The task force noted the systems "are currently being employed by forces operating in U.S. Central Command," the command responsible for operations against Iran.
Battle-tested in Ukraine
The Merops interceptor has downed more than 4,000 Russian drones in Ukraine since mid-2024, according to the company. Perennial says its systems combine computer vision, radio-frequency-based detection, jam-resistant communications and next-generation autonomy to deliver precision engagements at a far lower cost per intercept than traditional missile-based defenses. The company, backed by former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, recently signed a partnership to manufacture the Merops interceptor in Germany.
Closing a cost gap
The award follows the military's purchase of thousands of Merops units at the start of the Iran war. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told lawmakers the service bought 13,000 Merops interceptors in the early days of the conflict at roughly $15,000 per unit, which he said helped rectify the cost imbalance of using expensive defensive systems against inexpensive Shahed-type drones. "This partnership provides the joint force with state-of-the-art, counter-UAS capability to remain lethal on today's modern battlefield," said Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, the task force director.
A growing autonomous battlefield
The contract underscores how autonomous and uncrewed systems are reshaping defense procurement, a trend echoed in deliveries of tactical ground robots to allied forces and demonstrations of autonomous maritime platforms. The same dynamics have played out across the front lines in Ukraine, where fighting robots have become fixtures of the conflict, and in the rapid scaling of heavy-lift cargo drones.
Reporting based on coverage from DefenseScoop and Joint Interagency Task Force 401.