# DoW Seeks Scalable Drone Suppliers

The Department of War’s Drone Dominance Program plans to purchase more than 200,000 drones from the winner of a four-stage Gauntlet challenge expected to conclude in late 2027. Separately, a Pentagon commercial-drone competition reported Neros and Perennial Autonomy as the highest-scoring participants in its second phase; that result does not establish a final award. The signals identify domestic component supply, repeatable production, NDAA-compliant sourcing, testing capacity, and supplier lead times as key constraints, but provide no contract value, open solicitation, or procurement contact.

- The planned volume creates potential demand for U.S.-based drone production, qualified components, manufacturing automation, testing capacity, secure communications, and edge-AI technologies.
- Companies should assess whether their supply chains and production processes can support repeatable, high-volume delivery while addressing the sourcing and testing constraints identified in the program.
- Neros and Perennial Autonomy may have competitive positioning based on their phase-two scores, but the signals do not identify a winner or confirm that this competition is the Drone Dominance Gauntlet.
- The expected late-2027 conclusion provides a planning horizon; the available information does not include a proposal deadline or published contract terms.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Defense & Military, Information Technology
**Topics:** Artificial Intelligence
**Published:** October 24, 2026

### Government Entities
- Department of War (DoW)
- Department of Defense (DoD)

### Vendors
- Neros (competitor; highest-scoring participant in phase two)
- Perennial Autonomy (competitor; highest-scoring participant in phase two)

### Sources
- [Unmanned - Page 2 of 145 - Defense News](https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/page/2) - Defense News
- [Taking Off: The Push to Build America’s Drones at Scale | Aerospace & Defense | advancedmanufacturing.org](https://www.advancedmanufacturing.org/industries/aerospace-defense/taking-off-the-push-to-build-america-s-drones-at-scale/article_187c753b-8361-4ac8-99ef-36f1ce74ae39.html) - Advanced Manufacturing