LASSO
US Army loitering munition OTA programme; $1.2bn ceiling through FY2031; awarded to AeroVironment.
Last refreshed: 10 May 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for LASSO
Awarded to AeroVironment Switchblade 400 on 4 May with $1.2B ceiling
Drones: Industry & Defence: Switchblade 400 wins Army LASSO at $1.2bn ceiling- What is the LASSO programme and what did it select?
- LASSO (Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance) is a US Army OTA procurement programme for extended-range anti-tank loitering munitions. On 4 May 2026, it selected AeroVironment's Switchblade 400, with a $1.2 billion ceiling through FY2031.Source: AeroVironment / DefenseScoop, 4 May 2026
- How does LASSO fit into the Pentagon's drone procurement strategy?
- LASSO sits within the Gauntlet II munitions architecture alongside the Lethality Prize and other loitering munition programmes, under the $54.6 billion Defence Autonomous Warfare Group budget. At $200 million per year averaged, it is a standardisation contract rather than a volume production vehicle.Source: DefenseScoop / US Army budget documents
- How much is the US Army requesting for LASSO in FY2027?
- The Army is requesting $110 million in FY2027 procurement for LASSO, part of a planned ceiling of approximately $1.2 billion through FY2031. The annualised run rate funds roughly 200 to 400 Switchblade-class munitions per year against the Pentagon's 300,000-drone procurement target.Source: US Army budget request / DefenseScoop
Background
The Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) is a US Army procurement programme using Other Transaction Authority (OTA) to field extended-range anti-tank loitering munitions at brigade combat team scale. LASSO sits within the Pentagon's Gauntlet II munitions architecture alongside the Lethality Prize and Mountain Horse Solutions kinetic award.
On 4 May 2026, the Army awarded the LASSO programme to AeroVironment's Switchblade 400, with a planned ceiling of approximately $1.2 billion through FY2031 and an FY2027 procurement request of $110 million . The programme's annualised run rate of roughly $200 million funds approximately 200 to 400 Switchblade-class munitions per year against the Pentagon's 300,000-drone procurement target.
LASSO's strategic significance lies in extending anti-tank loitering reach at brigade level from roughly 10 km to 65 km, pulling Russian armoured formations inside deep-strike reach without divisional artillery. The $1.2 billion six-year ceiling is modest against the $54.6 billion Defence Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG) budget line but establishes AeroVironment as the Army's standardised anti-tank loitering supplier across three simultaneous programmes.