Skyborne Technologies has received a Department of War Limited Safety Release for CODiAQ, its Controller Operated Direct Action Quadruped, clearing the armed ground robot for evaluation by US Special Operations Command. The milestone falls under a $6.5 million firm-fixed-price RDT&E contract that covers 14 armed quadrupeds and 28 modular weapon payloads delivered as a single fielding package.
What CODiAQ is
CODiAQ pairs a four-legged ground platform with Skyborne's modular weapon payload family, including the HAVOC 40mm grenade launcher and the CHAOS 12-gauge system, plus an onboard Targeting Electronics Optical Box. A single operator drives the system through a handheld controller while the robot itself handles movement and terrain navigation in autonomous or semi-autonomous modes — an interface designed to keep the operator behind cover during direct-action tasks.
Safety Release as a gate
A Department of War Limited Safety Release is the formal authorisation that lets uniformed operators handle a weapon system in supervised training. For CODiAQ it sets up live-fire training with tactical operators in October 2026, with formal evaluations requested by multiple USSOCOM Tactical Units of Action and a partnered foreign ally. The release is a key gating event before any decision to move CODiAQ toward broader procurement.
Where it sits in the armed ground-robot field
CODiAQ joins a small but growing field of armed quadrupeds, alongside Boston Dynamics's Spot platform — used in security and inspection rather than combat — and various Chinese armed quadruped prototypes. Skyborne's pitch is a Western-supply-chain armed system designed from the start around modular payloads and US-based manufacturing.
What's next
Skyborne says the CODiAQ fielding will be the first step in scaling domestic manufacturing of armed quadrupeds. Beyond USSOCOM, the company is positioning the platform for partner nations and conventional army formations that want a lighter, faster-to-field complement to traditional ground robots and remote weapons stations.
Reporting based on coverage from Skyborne Technologies, GlobeNewswire, Defence Blog and Interesting Engineering.