The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO) announced a new solicitation Monday, seeking scalable low-collateral defeat (LCD) capabilities to integrate into current counter-drone programs and support the Pentagon’s Replicator 2 initiative.

This latest initiative aims to address the rapidly shifting threat landscape posed by small drones – transitioning from hobbyist platforms using commercial tech to fast, unpredictable systems built for evading traditional defenses.

By emphasizing low-collateral effects, the Department of Defense (DoD) hopes to equip U.S. forces with defeat solutions that minimize risk to civilians, infrastructure and friendly forces both domestically and abroad.

“DIU continues to work with partners across DoD to accelerate efforts to address UAS threats in both combat environments and highly populated areas,” said DIU Director Doug Beck. “We’re working with the most agile commercial companies to scale solutions to meet the evolving threat.”

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The solicitation is being executed through DIU’s Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) process, designed to reduce acquisition friction and enable rapid development cycles. Solution providers are expected to participate in joint testing events and must be prepared to integrate with existing Programs of Record from each military branch.

The initiative comes as part of the broader Replicator campaign, which seeks to deliver thousands of attritable autonomous systems to outpace adversary development cycles and exploit asymmetric advantage. It also supports the goals of Executive Order 14269, which mandates modernizing defense procurement and spurring industrial base innovation.

Gen. Gregory Guillot, Commander of U.S. Northern Command and NORAD, highlighted the homeland security implications of this effort:

“North America faces a variety of non-traditional threats, and key among these is the use of small uncrewed aircraft systems operating near installations and critical infrastructure – addressing these threats is a top priority and essential task,” said Guillot.

“Partnering with DIU to employ low-collateral defeat capabilities is one example of how we are developing the forward-looking capabilities and policies necessary to ensure a seamless and well-coordinated defensive enterprise.”

JCO Director Maj. Gen. David Stewart framed the solicitation as a central component of the DoD’s evolving approach to drone warfare:

“This project is a key step in our joint solutions approach to address the growing threats and challenges of all-domain drone warfare. We are focused on accelerating capability development, while introducing novel operating concepts.”

The solicitation remains open to industry submissions through May 19, 2025.

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Post Image Credit: U.S. Department of Defense photos by Josh Armstrong