Five companies lead scoring in $1 billion drone program

Five vendors led the close-quarters category of Gauntlet II, part of the Pentagon's planned $1 billion Drone Dominance program. Neros ranked first with 88.1 points, followed by ORQA, XTEND, Vector and ModalAI, after competitors were evaluated on performance and production readiness. XTEND said it delivered 120 STRIKER drones for the event, while Vector reported potential orders for as many as 5,000 systems and demonstrated a specialized electronic firing device. The exercise, organized with the Defense Innovation Unit and military test organizations, informs future prototype awards rather than confirming full-scale purchases from all five companies.