Gauntlet I
Pentagon drone competition at Fort Moore where Skycutter scored 99.3/100, triggering Phase 1 delivery orders.
On 18 September, Gauntlet I's successor named ten Gauntlet II winners for orders of about 60,000 drones, extending the Pentagon competition that Gauntlet I established.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can Gauntlet's speed match the pace of battlefield drone evolution?
Timeline for Gauntlet I
Received Thunder Tiger's completed delivery
Drones: Industry & Defence: Thunder Tiger delivers Gauntlet I dronesMentioned in: Hegseth plans a four-star drone command
Drones: Industry & DefenceMentioned in: Brave1 Market takes 590,000 drone orders
Drones: Industry & DefenceFell short on deliveries
Drones: Industry & Defence: DIU ranks Gauntlet II drone winnersMentioned in: EHEL slip makes LOCUST delivery a competitive hedge for AeroVironment
Drones: Industry & DefenceBackground
Gauntlet I was the Pentagon's inaugural Drone Dominance competition, held at Fort Moore, Georgia. It evaluated one-way attack drones through live performance rather than a conventional paper-led procurement process. Skycutter won with a 99.3 out of 100 score using a modified Shrike 10 fibre-optic FPV drone.
The competition linked operational assessment to orders for suppliers that met the standard. Its first phase involved 30,000 attack drones from 11 vendors, making Gauntlet I a reference point for the Pentagon's effort to buy large numbers of lower-cost drones quickly.
Its significance lies in the procurement model: competitors must prove systems against conditions intended to reflect modern electronic warfare. Later rounds can alter technical requirements, but Gauntlet I established the live evaluation and supplier-selection pattern that those rounds use.
Gauntlet I reshaped Pentagon drone buying
Gauntlet I became the first test of a faster Pentagon route from live drone evaluation to delivery orders. Its successor, Gauntlet II, named ten winners on 18 September for orders of about 60,000 drones, showing that the competition format had become a continuing procurement mechanism rather than a single trial.
The second round also raised the standard that Gauntlet I set. On 25 March, the Pentagon said Gauntlet II would use GPS jamming, communications denial and electronic warfare to test drones in contested conditions. That made performance in the first competition a starting point, not a lasting qualification.
Which companies received Phase 1 delivery orders from Gauntlet I?
How many drones did the Pentagon order from Gauntlet I?
What happened at the Pentagon's first Drone Dominance Gauntlet?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 1 October 2026. Editorial standards.