A US military task force just showed it's ready to bet billions of dollars on answers to the drone problem

A US military task force just showed it's ready to bet billions of dollars on answers to the drone problem JIATF-401 is the US' interagency counter-drone task force focused on developing and employing systems to defeat small uncrewed aerial systems. US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michael A. Richmond The US task force leading the military's response to the drone threat is ready to spend billions of dollars on contracts for counter-drone technologies, betting that a mixed arsenal will be needed to contend with one of the fast-growing battlefield problems.Officials said the investment would help scale different technologies so that more federal agencies and military units can get what they need for specific requirements, environments, and threats. The contracts mark the latest step in accelerating the adoption of counter-drone systems, the urgency driven by ongoing conflicts and the rapid proliferation of drones.On Tuesday, the Joint Interagency Task Force 401, or JIATF-401, announced a new set of enterprise contracts for counter-drone and counter-uncrewed aerial system technologies with a combined ceiling of nearly $7 billion."I'll tell you there isn't one answer to the drone threat," Brent Ingraham, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisitions, logistics, and technology, told reporters. "So we didn't build around one solution."The new contracts include a range of companies and counter-UAS capabilities, including sensors and other non-kinetic options for detecting and disabling drones, as well as kinetic weapons for shooting them down. Officials said the contracts gave agencies more options going forward rather than relying completely on a specific company or system."I think it solves a couple of problems," Brig. Gen. Matthew Ross, director of JIATF-401, said during a roundtable discussion. "Number one is it makes sure that these capabilities that are going to be proliferated a ton are available to our formations." The contracts also help widen the availability of systems that may have been seen as specific to the Department of Defense.JIATF-401 replaced the Pentagon's previous counter-drone force and covers the military as well as federal, state, and local agencies.Earlier this year, the task force stood up a drone marketplace where units and agencies can buy systems. Efforts have been underway to make the marketplace available to international partners and allies as well. Earlier this month, Australia became the first ally to successfully procure technology from the marketplace.While the war in Ukraine has incentivized the US to adapt to the new demands of modern drone warfare, other incidents and attacks have added urgency. Hostile drones killed six US service members in Kuwait in March and three soldiers in Jordan in 2024. An investigation into the latter, obtained by Business Insider, found that the military was insufficiently prepared for the threat. Military officials have said they see no silver bullet for defeating drones that can be easily distributed across the larger force; instead, a variety of technologies need to be available to meet specific requirements. "If you think about 11th Airborne in Alaska or 1st Armored Division, both Army units, they have very different needs in terms of counter-UAS capability," Ross said.Officials have also emphasized the importance of building a layered defense against drones with systems that can detect, disable, and destroy threats at different ranges. The new contracts are intended to give units access to that necessary mix of capabilities. Read next Chris Panella is a defense reporter for Business Insider. He covers technological transformations in the US military with focuses on US military modernization, US Army transformation, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and drones. Globally, Panella reports on China's military and Taiwan. Panella has embedded with the Army in Alaska, interviewed special operators learning to fly drones, and flown with US Coast Guard helicopters practicing drug interdictions. If you have a tip related to these areas or broader defense coverage, Panella can be reached at cpanella@businessinsider.com or on Signal at cpanella.85. Jake Epstein is a defense correspondent in London for Business Insider, covering the US military, NATO, and European security, as well as emerging tech in warfare.Jake has filed stories from conflict zones in Ukraine and the Middle East, where he embedded with a US aircraft carrier on a combat mission in the Red Sea. Jake has reported extensively on NATO operations and activities across Europe, including from aboard one of its AWACS surveillance aircraft along the Russian border, a British Voyager tanker refueling fighter jets over the Baltic Sea, and a Dutch helicopter flying to a warship in the Arctic. Defense Drones