On July 6, AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) announced it has been awarded a three-year, $500 million Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract in support of Joint Interagency Task Force 401’s (JIATF-401) Domestic Shield Program.
Under this sole-source contract, AV will provide a range of Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) and Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-sUAS) capabilities for use by the Department of War (DoW) for force protection, base defense and counter-UAS operations in support of the Domestic Shield Program. The DoW announced the award on July 1.
“Domestic Shield is about protecting Americans where they live and work, and safeguarding the critical infrastructure that underpins our economy and national security,” said Wahid Nawabi, chairman, president and chief executive officer at AV. “This award reflects strong confidence in AV, our people and our technology and it reinforces the shared obligation we have to stay ahead of rapidly evolving drone threats, not only in contested theaters abroad, but in the skies over our own communities.”
The Domestic Shield Program is a JIATF-401 initiative that advances a more proactive, scalable domestic counter-UAS posture by expanding defensive perimeters, streamlining threat identification, strengthening interagency data sharing and operational coordination, enabling trained contractor support, and delegating protection authorities to better defend high-risk facilities and critical assets against evolving drone threats.
In April, the Department of War announced that JIATF-401 has committed over $600 million at a record pace to strengthen counter-unmanned aircraft systems capabilities in support of Operation Epic Fury and homeland defense.
“JIATF-401’s single measure of effectiveness is to rapidly deliver counter drone capabilities to our warfighters at home and abroad,” said Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, director of JIATF-401. “By investing in the latest technology, we are adding another tool in a layered defense so we can respond swiftly and effectively to any illicit drone threats.”
AV delivers an integrated, layered counter-UAS architecture that provides persistent detection, tracking, identification, and defeat capabilities across the full spectrum of operational environments. At the core of this architecture is AV_Halo, which serves as the integration layer connecting sensors, platforms, and operators while enabling seamless interoperability with third-party technologies, command-and-control systems, and emergency response networks, according to the company.
Source: AeroVironment
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