Two Ukrainian Firms Among the Four Selected for Project Artemis’ One-Way Attack Drones
Aerovironment, Dragoon and two Ukrainian corporations have been chosen for Venture Artemis, meant to quickly develop, prototype and discipline scalable UAVs that may convey a low-cost mass in a high-end warfare.
America’ DIU (Protection Innovation Unit) has announced the award of contracts to 4 corporations, two of them being Ukrainian, for prototyping modular, long-range, one-way assault drones that may be launched shortly and carry various swappable payloads, primarily based on mission wants. Primarily, they need to function in EW (Digital Warfare) and GNSS (International Navigation Satellite tv for pc Techniques)-denied environments, says the company.
Whereas the U.S. corporations have been recognized as Dragoon and Aerovironment, the latter being the producer of the Switchblade series of loitering munitions extensively utilized in Ukraine, the Ukrainian corporations haven’t been named. These two have partnered with U.S. software program corporations Swan and Auterion, respectively, and all 4 distributors must display their merchandise between April and Might 2025, after which the DIU will make additional picks.
Referred to as Venture Artemis, this system was initiated following a Congressional request and comes as different wings of the U.S. army are pursuing their very own tasks for scalable UAVs that may convey a low-cost mass within the battlespace of a high-end warfare. The one picture launched accompanying the DIU’s press assertion seems to be an AI-generated visible of Reaper-like drones powered by three engines.
U.S.Protection Innovation Unit (DIU) has awarded contracts to 4 corporations for Venture Artemis,a programme aimed toward creating & evaluating long-range,one-way unmanned platforms.This initiative is being carried out in collaboration with the Workplace of the Below Secretary of Protection A&S pic.twitter.com/Jlq00TYCr4
— Valhalla (@ELMObrokenWings) March 14, 2025
Quick acquisition and fielding program
The so-called kamikaze drones, formally outlined as one-way attack UAVs, sought underneath Venture Artemis should be reasonably priced, ground-launched, and function at ranges from 50-300 km, says the DIU. They need to “launch shortly and expeditiously, navigate at low altitudes, carry quite a lot of payloads, [be] quickly updatable and upgradable, and purposeful in disrupted, disconnected, intermittent and low-bandwidth and International Navigation Satellite tv for pc System denied environments.”
Venture Artemis goals to shortly search improvement, prototyping and fielding of such programs for the “providers and Combatant Instructions […] years prematurely of present Program of Report timeframes.” DIU’s program supervisor Trent Emeneker mentioned within the assertion: “We’re excited concerning the non-traditional corporations who’re offering low-cost, adaptable, long-range, UAS platforms with the potential to maximise operational flexibility for the Joint power.”
“This was the intent of Congress’ route to rethink find out how to get capabilities to the warfighter at pace and scale that may ship a lot sooner than conventional Applications of Report,” additional added Emeneker. DIU and the Protection Workplace of the Below Secretary of Protection for Acquisition & Sustainment (A&S) recognized the 4 corporations following a “drawback assertion,” a solicitation course of, the analysis of 165 proposals and “flight demonstrations to confirm acknowledged capabilities of down-selected corporations and entered into contract negotiations,” in simply over 4 months.
🇮🇷 How Iran Helps the Houthis in Yemen?
Iran supplies army, monetary, logistical, and advisory help to the Houthi rebels, considerably enhancing their fight capabilities.
🚀 Missiles Equipped to the Houthis by Iran
Ballistic Missiles (Iranian Equivalents in… pic.twitter.com/A2gp5g6XLS
— Conflict Report (@clashreport) March 17, 2025
Easy, low-cost, scalable weapons over technological area of interest
The venture bares how each the Ukraine-Russia warfare and the Center East battle with the Houthis proceed to affect army tendencies and defense-technological doctrines globally, with scalability and mass of low-cost weapons, trumps technical sophistry. “Congressional route for this effort had a aim to offer loitering munitions able to operation in an electromagnetic contested surroundings, at a worth level that permits for mass deployment,” mentioned the DIU assertion.
As beforehand reported by The Aviationist, the necessity to have scalability has even pervaded massive capital weapons like fighter plane. The U.S. Air Power has realized the necessity to have moderately superior jets that may be manufactured, maintained and upgraded over time as an alternative of sturdy or overly superior platforms, entailing greater provide chain and life-cycle prices.
The participation of the Ukrainian corporations can also be equally fascinating, given the wealth of expertise in designing and fielding uneven assault drones starting from easy propeller pushed bombers just like the UJ-22, to massive mild sports activities plane just like the Sky Ranger Nynja, hitting targets as deep behind enemy traces as Moscow, oil and pure gasoline services and strategic army installations like early warning radars.
Aerovironment secured in Jun. 2024 an almost $1 billion contract for Switchblade 300s and 600s for the U.S. Military. DIU additionally has a separate venture referred to as the ETV (Enterprise Check Automobile), which is analogous to Artemis however focuses on designs that might evolve into low-cost cruise missiles.
Classes from present wars
The DIU assertion didn’t explicitly point out the wars in Ukraine or the Purple Sea, however did say “Venture Artemis objectives are immediately tied to observations of present actual world fight circumstances in addition to suggestions from finish customers throughout the DoD on what capabilities could also be wanted on this house to face close to peer risk capabilities.”
For example, the Ukrainian corporations that developed the above-mentioned programs will need to have been underneath the fixed overhead risk of Russian standoff strikes aimed toward Kyiv’s protection factories, gaining priceless data into environment friendly industrial processes and a low-footprint. The truth that Russia in Aug. 2024 determined to observe Ukraine’s footsteps to change its personal Soviet-era Yak-52 trainers to shoot down Ukraine’s pesky drones, proved the the price and operational asymmetry imposed on its bigger anti-air programs just like the Tor and Pantsir.
AV Secures $743 Million Extra Contract Ceiling for Switchblade Loitering Munition Techniques. Study extra: https://t.co/k2jCbCfH7n#Army #Switchblade #DefenseTech pic.twitter.com/gzHFWj0OyT
— AeroVironment (@aerovironment) October 14, 2024
Russia subsequently began to closely make use of EW to jam, spoof and disable the drones however, though these have been reported to achieve success, the commercially obtainable drone expertise nonetheless lent Ukraine the flexibility to relentlessly hold fielding such programs. It’s a totally different matter that Russia additionally held the identical ‘uneven’ benefit over Ukraine’s Western-supplied air protection programs just like the Patriot, NASAMS and SAMP/T that usually expended their missiles within the quest to shoot down volleys of Russian Geran-2 drones and Kh-101 missiles.
Within the Purple Sea, the Houthis’ mass drone, cruise missile, anti-ship ballistic missile strikes on coalition warships and Israel led to the superior floor combatants to typically spend their magazines, preserving overworked gunnery crews on hair-trigger alert. Most significantly, the Houthi projectiles confirmed that the road between one-way assault drones and long-range cruise missiles was more and more getting blurred, the place the development has manifested into one thing like Venture Artemis.
Additionally, within the Pacific theater, U.S. and Taiwanese army planners try to understand their aligning visions with inspiration from Ukraine for the ocean drone warfare with China, with examples being Taipei’s radar-baiting Chein Hsiang kamikaze drones, USVs and the Pentagon’s Replicator program. The efforts have their very own share of strategic, diplomatic and operational challenges, however however, can critically threaten the PLA Navy and Air Power, if they arrive to fruition.
