Swarm Defense Technologies
Michigan maker of the Kiwi one-way attack drone, a Pentagon Drone Dominance supplier.
Swarm Defense Technologies placed fifth in the Gauntlet II deep-strike ranking on 18 September 2026, then announced on 22 September a prototype order for 4,000 Kiwi attack drones worth at least US$25m.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026
Timeline for Swarm Defense Technologies
Mentioned in: DIU ranks Gauntlet II drone winners
Drones: Industry & DefenceBackground
Swarm Defense Technologies builds its drones at a 40,000 sq ft facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, which it shares with its sister company Firefly Drone Shows, the business it grew out of.
Its product is the Kiwi, a one-way attack quadcopter flown through the company's Strike Deck ground software. Swarm Defense says one operator can fly five Kiwis at once after a few hours of training.
That one-operator, many-aircraft design is what the company took into the Pentagon's Drone Dominance Program, which buys cheap attack drones in large numbers through a series of fly-off contests. Swarm Defense placed fifth in the Gauntlet II deep-strike category and now holds a prototype order under the programme.
The Kiwi wins a prototype order
Swarm Defense Technologies finished fifth among the five deep-strike winners when the Defense Innovation Unit ranked Gauntlet II on 18 September 2026. Officials put orders across the two Gauntlet II categories, deep strike and close-quarters work, at about 60,000 drones.
On 22 September the company announced its share: a prototype order under the Drone Dominance Program for 4,000 Kiwi one-way attack drones, with a minimum value of US$25m including munitions. The order turns Swarm Defense from a contest entrant into a Pentagon supplier, with the Kiwis to come from its plant in Auburn Hills, Michigan.