# U.S. Defense Awards Autonomous Systems Contracts

AFRICOM awarded Merlin $500,000 on November 11, 2026, to test autonomous pilot technology for casualty-evacuation missions, and the Army awarded Safe Pro Group $2.5 million on November 10 for an AI technology stack integrated with Anduril’s Ghost-X drone for aerial threat detection and Abrams tank protection. Separately, Ukraine-founded UFORCE raised $700 million at a valuation above $6 billion to expand manufacturing, R&D, and integration of autonomous air, surface, and ground systems. For procurement teams, these actions show active defense interest in autonomy and AI-enabled capabilities, alongside private investment that could expand future supplier capacity.

- The AFRICOM and Army awards identify near-term work in autonomous casualty evacuation, aerial threat detection, and armored-vehicle protection. Companies with relevant systems or integration capabilities can evaluate opportunities to support these mission areas.
- UFORCE’s financing may support expanded production and R&D, but it is private investment rather than a government contract award; contractors should distinguish that capacity signal from funded procurement opportunities.
- Expeditionary power and synthetic-fuel capabilities are also identified as areas to watch for potential follow-on procurement, particularly for operations where grid access or fuel supply is constrained.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Defense & Military
**Topics:** Artificial Intelligence
**Published:** November 13, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)
- U.S. Army (Army)
- U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)
- U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM)

### Vendors
- UFORCE (Recipient of a $700 million Series A funding round; autonomous systems manufacturer)
- Merlin (Awardee of the AFRICOM autonomous pilot technology contract)
- Safe Pro Group (Prime contractor for the Army AI technology stack contract)
- Anduril (Provider of the Ghost-X drone integrated with Safe Pro Group’s technology)
- AIRCO ()

### Key Quotes
> Our m.o. is to go to exercises and actually do stuff.
> — Oleg Rogynskyy, CEO of UFORCE

> One of the major constraints that we run into working at Schofield [Barracks], and would see the same thing throughout the Pacific, is that power is not readily available through most of the grid, if there even is a grid.
> — Kevin Beamish, Chief Operating Officer of BG Workforce Solutions

> And so, rather than relying on a refinery somewhere on the other side of the world that’s, you know, shipping your fuel thousands and thousands of miles around the world, you truly have the ability to be self-sufficient and self-sustained as well.
> — Gregory Constantine, CEO of AIRCO

### Sources
- [Defense Business Brief: This Ukraine-founded drone maker is now worth $6 billion. What now?  - Defense One](https://www.defenseone.com/business/2026/11/defense-business-brief-ukraine-founded-drone-maker-now-worth-6-billion-what-now/417207) - Defense One