Aidan Daly
Air Force Global Strike Command innovation hub STRIKEWERX has selected 26 entities to aid the AFGSC Office of the Chief Scientist’s effort to research and develop technologies to defend mobile transport systems against swarming autonomous small unmanned aircraft systems.
The finalists from 75 submissions for the Continental U.S. Mobile C-sUAS Swarm Defeat Challenge will have to pitch their solutions for countering small drones via a virtual showcase in November, STRIKEWERX said Thursday. An in-person presentation follows in December at the Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier City, Louisiana.
After the virtual and in-person showcases, AFGSC evaluators will identify the best ideas for potential prototype development contracts. The prototypes that prove beneficial could be scaled for operational use.
“U.S. integrated deterrence is backstopped by a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent. This challenge will discover the newest developments in industry to address threats and maintain the command’s commitment to nuclear deterrence,” said AFGSC Chief Scientist Donna Senft.
STRIKEWERX Director Russ Mathers said he found the submissions to be a cross-section of industry, small business and academia, adding: “I look forward to working with our partners in Global Strike to further this market research towards potentially creating a prototype.”
