JIATF 401 Awards Perennial Autonomy a $500 Million Counter-Drone Contract

Overview

• The task force, which announced the award Monday, set a three-year ceiling of $500 million under an IDIQ, a flexible umbrella contract that enables rapid follow-on orders across the force.
• Perennial will supply Merops air-to-air interceptors, Bumblebee quadcopters, and Hornet midrange strike drones now used by U.S. units in the Central Command region.
• The systems fuse computer vision, radio-frequency sensing, and jam-resistant links for autonomous targeting, and troops keep the final say on lethal force.
• JIATF 401 says the gear integrates with existing command-and-control networks to give commanders faster options as part of a layered defense.
• Army leaders point to a unit cost near $15,000 for a Merops interceptor versus $30,000 to $50,000 for a Shahed-class drone, a gap that supports mass production and expendable use.