The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), the US Army, along with partners have chosen ten finalists for the counter-small, uncrewed aircraft system (C-sUAS) low-cost sensing (LCS) challenge.
The selected companies are BLUEiQ, CHAOS 1, Fortem Technologies, Guardian RF, Hidden Level, MatrixSpace, REVOBEAM, Squarehead Technology, Teledyne FLIR Defense, and Thalrix.
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These finalists were selected from a pool of 118 submissions.
Selected solutions encompass a variety of sensor types such as radio frequency passive detection, active radar, acoustic detectors, optical and infrared cameras, along with several hybrid modality technologies.
The technological approaches are expected to offer significant operational value and could reduce total cost of ownership by 50-80% compared to current Department of Defense (DoD) systems.
DIU director Doug Beck said: “The evolving threat from unmanned aerial systems demands that we leverage every tool at our disposal – from cutting-edge commercial solutions to robust partnerships across government and industry.
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By GlobalData“This challenge directly supports DOD’s strategic priorities by tapping into non-traditional defence companies to develop scalable, cost-effective sensing solutions that help our forces at home and abroad to identify threats with the speed and fidelity needed to counter them.”
The chosen finalists will now participate in live demonstrations at Falcon Peak 25.2 exercise hosted by USNORTHCOM in September 2025.
The event will serve as a practical evaluation platform for these low-cost sensing solutions. Performance at Falcon Peak will determine the allocation of the prize purse.
Moreover, top-performing technologies may be considered for subsequent opportunities such as Other Transaction agreements, Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, or direct integration into operational use.
Replicator 2 director David Payne said: “These ten finalists represent the forefront of sensor innovation, demonstrating how diverse technological approaches can enhance our layered defence.
“Our collaboration with USNORTHCOM, the US Army, and other partners has been instrumental in aligning this effort with the Department’s most critical sensing needs. Ultimately, this prize challenge is about helping to provide the tools to extend cost-effective sensing capabilities to our most critical installations.”
The LCS challenge was initiated in May 2025.
