The Pentagon's FY2027 budget request lifts the DAWG line from $225.9 million to $54.6 billion in one cycle and puts $70 billion behind drones and counter-drones. Anduril is now contracted across counter-UAS, CCA and Golden Dome, the first non-prime to hold all three. Australia commits A$7 billion to counter-drones, and DJI books a $1.56 billion regulatory loss.
DAWG at $54.6 billion reorganises US defence procurement around autonomous systems, with Anduril the first non-prime holding all three contract domains.
Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst III released the FY2027 request on 21 April, lifting the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group line from $225.9 million to $54.6 billion in a single cycle.
Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst released the FY2027 budget on 21 April. The Defense Autonomous Warfare Group line jumped from $225.9 million to $54.6 billion, a 24,100% rise.
Total drone and counter-drone request reached $70 billion. Two new umbrella programmes, Pegasus Charge and Ironhorse Rebirth, appeared without specifications. Even a 50% congressional cut leaves the autonomous-systems line FAR above FY2026.
The US Space Force on 24 April awarded eleven companies, including Anduril, SpaceX, Lockheed and Northrop, a share of a $3.2 billion Other Transaction Authority pool for Golden Dome space-based interceptor prototypes.
United StatesThe US Space Force on 24 April awarded eleven firms a share of a $3.2 billion Golden Dome contract pool. Anduril, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman all received slots.
Anduril becomes the first non-prime contracted across counter-drone, collaborative combat aircraft, and space-based ballistic missile defence at the same time. The contract vehicle bypasses standard procurement competition and now anchors high-priority autonomous-systems awards.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy on 21 April announced Australia will invest up to A$7 billion over a decade in counter-drone capability, with first ASCA Mission Syracuse contracts going to AIM Defence and SYPAQ Systems.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy on 21 April announced A$7 billion over ten years for counter-drones. The investment sits inside a A$22 billion broader envelope, a 69% rise on 2024.
Two Australian firms won the first contracts: A$21.3 million for the Fractl laser and A$10.4 million for the Corvo Strike loitering interceptor. DroneShield, Australia's only publicly listed counter-drone champion, received no first-tranche award.
Anduril posted manufacturing engineer, quality engineer and production technician roles for Roadrunner at the Arsenal-1 mega-factory in Pickaway County, Ohio on 22 April.
Anduril on 22 April posted manufacturing engineer, quality engineer and production technician roles for Roadrunner at Arsenal-1 in Pickaway County, Ohio. Roadrunner is the second of four platforms scheduled for end-2026 production.
The first platform, Fury, delivered four months ahead of schedule in March 2026. Manufacturing-engineer postings precede tooling installation by three to six months and first-article output by nine to twelve months.
Lockheed Martin's Q1 2026 earnings call on 23 April disclosed a strategic investment in Fortem Technologies and the launch of the SANC counter-UAS ecosystem, the company's first integrated commercial detect-control-identify-mitigate stack.
Lockheed Martin on 23 April disclosed a strategic investment in Fortem Technologies. The new branded counter-drone ecosystem is the company's first integrated detect-and-mitigate product line. Quarterly revenue stayed flat at $18.021 billion.
Net earnings fell 13% and the stock dropped 6.3% on the day. The new product directly contests the enterprise integrator slot that Anduril's $20 billion Lattice contract had begun to consolidate.
RTX on 21 April reported a Foreign Military Sales case approved for Coyote sales to the UAE and demonstrated a non-kinetic reusable Coyote variant capable of engaging a drone swarm, returning to base, and redeploying.
Raytheon Technologies on 21 April reported that effectors crossed 40% of Raytheon segment sales. A foreign sales case for the Coyote interceptor was approved for the United Arab Emirates.
Raytheon also demonstrated a non-kinetic reusable Coyote variant that engages a drone swarm and recovers for redeployment. Collins Aerospace flight-tested combat aircraft autonomy software, putting a third stack into competition with Shield AI Hivemind and Anduril.
DroneShield's Q1 2026 Appendix 4C on 22 April reported A$74 million in quarterly revenue (up 103%), A$24 million in operating cash inflow, and 217% year-on-year SaaS growth, between the founder-CEO departure and the 29 May AGM.
DroneShield filed its Q1 2026 quarterly report on 22 April. Quarterly revenue reached A$74 million, up 103% year on year, with a record A$24 million operating cash inflow.
Subscription software revenue rose 217% year on year to A$5.4 million. Committed FY2026 revenue stood at A$154.8 million by 20 April. Hamish McLennan joins as independent director on 1 May ahead of the 29 May annual meeting.
DJI filed its Opposition Brief in Ninth Circuit Case 26-1029 on 22 April, quantifying $1.56 billion of 2026 losses and asking the court to hold the case in abeyance for six months.
Da-Jiang Innovations, the Chinese drone maker, filed its Opposition Brief on 22 April in Ninth Circuit Case 26-1029. The brief quantified $1.56 billion in 2026 losses on the court record.
That breaks down as $700 million from fourteen blocked existing products and $860 million from twenty-five new products that cannot launch in the United States. The company requested a six-month abeyance and a November 2026 status report.
FDD on 24 April reported Russia's Alabuga Polytech recruiting a new unmanned-systems brigade through Telegram since mid-April, targeting gamers, with fourteen-year-olds assembling Geran-2 airframes at roughly $2,000 a month.
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies reported on 24 April that Russia's Alabuga Polytech is recruiting a new drone brigade through Telegram, targeting gamers. Fourteen-year-olds assemble Geran-2 airframes at 150,000 roubles a month.
African workers start at $550 per month according to Coda Story. Factory director Timur Shagivaleev says output runs nine times the original target. Bundeswehr General Christian Freuding has warned of 2,000 Geran-2 launches in a single night.
Defense News on 28 April reported the US Army and Navy have committed $675.93 million through FY2031 to the Joint Laser Weapon System, a 150-kilowatt containerised laser scalable to 300-500 kilowatts.
United StatesDefense News reported on 28 April that the US Army and Navy have committed $675.93 million through FY2031 to the Joint Laser Weapon System. The 150-kilowatt containerised laser is scalable to 300-500 kilowatts and aimed at cruise missiles.
The Navy carries $79.84 million in FY2027; the Army adds $337.8 million from FY2028 onwards. Lockheed Martin is the likely prime contractor given its lead on the predecessor laser programmes.
Mountain Horse Solutions, a Global Ordnance subsidiary, on 29 April won the Pentagon's inaugural Drone Dominance Lethality Prize Challenge, eight days after the stated 21 April announcement target.
Mountain Horse Solutions won the Pentagon's first Drone Dominance Lethality Prize Challenge on 29 April. The Global Ordnance subsidiary led a four-firm partnership, eight days after the stated 21 April target.
Winners join the Gauntlet II 50,000-drone preferred munitions list with an associated R&D contract. The eight-day slip is the first cadence test for the new procurement rhythm the prize architecture is meant to drive.
UK Defence Innovation's market engagement call for fibre-optic counter-drone detection technology closed on 21 April with no respondent list, technical advisory note, or downselection published as of 30 April.
UK Defence Innovation's market engagement call for fibre-optic counter-drone detection closed on 21 April. As of 30 April, no respondent list or downselection had been published.
The agency typically processes responses in four to eight weeks. Fibre-optic-guided drones bypass radio-frequency jamming, and the procurement winner will define Britain's counter-drone detection architecture for the rest of the decade.
Direction of travel is locked at the budget level through July markup; magnitude is contestable. A 50% Congressional cut still leaves $27.3 billion, sufficient to force every drone manufacturer to re-plan FY2027 capacity; sub-base-rate appropriations deeper than 50% would require a coordinated SASC-HASC override that has no precedent on autonomous-systems lines. The named decision hinges are: the Pegasus Charge and Ironhorse Rebirth justifications in May testimony (no technical specification published as of 30 April), the HASC and SASC markup conferences in June to July, and the DJI Ninth Circuit status report in November 2026 that will determine whether the enterprise-drone vacuum extends into 2027.
