Drone Dominance Program (DDP) Lethality Prize Challenge

The Drone Dominance Program (DDP) announces this Prize Challenge to identify modular lethal payload solutions for Group 1 small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS). For the purposes of this prize challenge, a lethal payload is defined as the integrated combination of a warhead and its associated Electronic Safe and Arm Device (ESAD) or Electro-Mechanical Safe and Arm Device (EMSAD) and communication/interface.

The Government will assist selected vendors in working through the Joint Services Weapons System Review (JSWSR) and limited safety releases in preparation for Drone Dominance Phase II Gauntlet (DDG2) events. This support is intended to accelerate safe integration and fielding, but does not guarantee safety approval or certification. Solutions must be scalable to match the rapid growth of Drone Dominance platforms and cost-effective to enable mass production and fielding.

At this point, the lethal payload system represents a significant portion of the total system cost; therefore, affordability and manufacturability are critical design considerations. Vendors are strongly encouraged to design payloads that integrate across multiple drone platforms and multiple vendors to maximize interoperability within the Drone Dominance ecosystem.