{
  "id": 14045919,
  "title": "The US Army is handing out over $4.15 billion to any company able to stop low-cost drone attacks on home soil",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/the-us-army-is-handing-out-over-4-15-billion-to-any-company-able-to",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-12T21:05:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechRadar",
    "slug": "techradar",
    "url": "https://www.techradar.com/pro/the-us-army-is-handing-out-over-usd4-15-billion-to-companies-able-to-stop-low-cost-drone-attacks-on-home-soil"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The US Army has awarded $4.15 billion in contracts to 10 companies for developing counter-drone technologies to protect military installations and critical infrastructure from low-cost drone attacks. Under the Domestic Shield initiative, seven companies each received a $500 million base award, while three other companies secured smaller amounts, resulting in a total contract value of up to $7 billion. The contracts are open to military services, federal agencies, and allied partners, allowing them to procure commercially available counter-drone equipment through a common framework instead of separate purchasing arrangements. The awarded technologies include robotic weapon stations, optical rifle sights, compact radars, long-range tracking cameras, and command-and-control software. The Army is working with Joint Interagency Task Force 401 to administer the initiative, using multiple suppliers to maintain competition and reduce dependence on individual vendors' technologies. The need for these systems arose during the 2026 US–Iran war, as Iranian drone attacks damaged American military facilities and equipment in the Middle East, including the US Embassy in Riyadh and a CIA station in Riyadh. To support coordination between different counter-drone systems, the Army requires open architecture standards that enable equipment from various suppliers to interface with existing defense networks.",
  "summary": "US Army awards $4.15 billion to 10 companies to defend bases against cheap drones after Iranian attacks damaged American facilities.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}