Skip to content
You can now search across every topic, entity and event.What's new
US Army
Armed GroupUS

US Army

US land warfare branch; primary Pentagon buyer for drones and counter-drone systems in 2026.

The US Army delivered four LOCUST X3 lasers to its Rapid Capabilities office on 24 May 2026 for the EHEL counter-drone programme, a stopgap it needed after the Army's own Enduring High Energy Laser effort slipped behind schedule.

Last refreshed: 3 August 2026 · Appears in 3 active topics

Key Question

Can the US Army's European drone tests unlock allied procurement at scale?

Timeline for US Army

#11 11 Aug

Mentioned in: GEREON ran six days in the Mojave

Autonomous Systems: Land & Sea
#10 31 Jul

Named American Rheinmetall prime on an 18-month sustainment contract

Autonomous Systems: Land & Sea: US Army buys the robot resupply job
#159 20 Jul

Mentioned in: The American death toll reaches 18

Iran Conflict 2026
#16 16 Jul

Mentioned in: Minneapolis kills a free Skydio trial

Drones: Industry & Defence
#15 3 Jul

Mentioned in: Gauntlet II sets five-week build sprint

Drones: Industry & Defence
View full timeline →
Follow Drones: Industry & Defence →Follow Russia-Ukraine War 2026 →Follow Autonomous Systems: Land & Sea →

Background

The US Army, the largest branch of the United States Armed Forces, is the primary Pentagon customer driving drone and counter-drone procurement in 2025-2026, including the laser and counter-drone programmes that produced the LOCUST X3 stopgap delivery. Its current operational footprint spans NATO's eastern flank (V Corps forward, Poznan), the Gulf, and dozens of allied training programmes. Two procurement campaigns define its 2026 posture: a $20 billion, 10-year Lattice enterprise vehicle awarded to Anduril in March 2026 that consolidates Counter-UAS actions under a single vendor, and the Drone Dominance one-way-attack programme targeting 300,000 FPV units by 2027 under a $1.1 billion budget.

On the eastern flank, Army V Corps ran Project Flytrap 5.0 at Pabrade, Lithuania on 9 June 2026. It was the first verified US Army operational test of a European autonomous strike drone: Helsing's HX-2 scored 15 kills in 17 engagements despite jamming and heavy electronic-warfare interference.

An AH-64 Apache went down near the Strait of Hormuz on 9 June during the Iran confrontation, raising questions about rotary-wing vulnerability in contested airspace. The Army also owns US Patriot interceptor production scheduling: Camden, Arkansas builds roughly 650 PAC-3 rounds a year for all customers, a constraint shaping Gulf partner readiness.

Key Issues
Counter-drone lasers

A laser slip forces a stopgap buy

The Army's Enduring High Energy Laser (EHEL) programme slipped its schedule, so AeroVironment delivered four LOCUST X3 lasers to the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office on 24 May 2026 to plug the gap.

The slip turned what would have been a routine delivery into a competitive hedge for AeroVironment, which had separately unveiled a five-dollar-per-shot laser aimed at drone kills, underscoring how FAR the Army's procurement reform now depends on vendors absorbing its own schedule risk.

Common Questions
What happened at Project Flytrap 5.0 in Lithuania?
US Army V Corps tested Helsing's HX-2 AI strike drone at Pabrade on 9 June 2026, achieving 15 kills in 17 engagements in GPS-denied, EW-contested conditions. It was the first confirmed US Army operational test of a European autonomous strike drone on NATO's eastern flank.Source: Lowdown Drones briefing
What is the US Army Gauntlet competition for drones?
Gauntlet is the US Army's competitive qualifying stage within the Drone Dominance FPV programme. Stage 1 ran 8-20 June 2026 with compressed price caps ($3,500 urban / $4,500 long-range) and an August 2026 Deadline for vendors to remove Chinese motors and batteries.Source: Lowdown Drones briefing
How many drones did the US Army buy under Drone Dominance Phase 1?
Phase 1 closed roughly 10,000 units short of its 30,000 FPV target. Lead vendor Neros shipped all 2,400 ARCHeR drones contracted but only 1,040 cleared acceptance, a 43% acceptance rate. Phase 2 introduces lower price caps and an August 2026 Deadline to remove Chinese components.Source: Lowdown Drones briefing
Why did a US Army Apache helicopter crash near the Strait of Hormuz?
An AH-64 Apache went down near the Strait of Hormuz on 9 June 2026 during the Iran confrontation. Both crew members were rescued. The cause was unconfirmed at the time of reporting, with an official investigation report due the following day.Source: Lowdown Iran Conflict briefing
What directed-energy weapons programme is the US Army running?
The US Army is running the Expendable High Energy Laser (E-HEL) competition; winner selection slipped from Q2 to Q4 FY2026. AeroVironment's LOCUST X3 was delivered to RCCTO for evaluation in April 2026. The Army and Navy have also committed $675.93 million through FY2031 to the Joint Laser Weapon System, a 150-kilowatt containerised laser.Source: drones-industry-defence briefing
What does the FY2027 Pentagon budget mean for drone spending?
The FY2027 DoD budget request lifted the Defence Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG) line from $225.9 million in FY2026 to $54.6 billion in FY2027, a 24,100% single-cycle increase. Total drone and counter-drone spending reached $70 billion in the request, described as the largest investment in drone warfare in US history.Source: drones-industry-defence briefing
What is Gauntlet II and when does it happen?
Gauntlet II is the Pentagon's second drone evaluation programme, scheduled for August 2026, targeting 50,000 to 60,000 drones. It includes mandatory GPS-denial testing and a live electronic warfare red team run by JIATF-401, designed to eliminate vendors whose systems cannot survive contested electromagnetic environments.Source: drones-industry-defence briefing #3
How many drones is the US Army trying to procure?
The US Army's Drone Dominance programme targets 300,000 drones by 2027 under a $1.1 billion budget. Eleven companies received Phase 1 delivery orders for 30,000 one-way attack drones at $5,000 per unit with a five-month delivery timeline.Source: drones-industry-defence briefing #2
What is the US Army's $20 billion Anduril contract?
In March 2026 the US Army awarded Anduril a 10-year, $20 billion enterprise contract vehicle for the Lattice Counter-UAS platform, consolidating more than 120 procurement actions into a single mechanism and giving Anduril default counter-drone vendor status across the entire Army without competitive tendering.Source: drones-industry-defence briefing #3
What did JIATF-401 award AeroVironment in July 2026?
On 6 July 2026 JIATF-401, the Army's counter-drone task force, awarded AeroVironment a second $500 million Domestic Shield IDIQ plus an $80.5 million Titan contract, worth $580.5 million combined, following Perennial Autonomy's May 2026 Merops IDIQ.