The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), working with the Department of Defense’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment (A&S), has selected four industry teams to develop and demonstrate long-range, one-way unmanned aerial systems (UAS) under Project Artemis. Funded by a dedicated FY24 budget line, the effort will evaluate “attritable” loitering munitions designed to operate in contested electronic warfare (EW) and GPS-denied environments. By combining rapid prototyping with operationally representative testing, Project Artemis aims to field systems capable of delivering strike effects or conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) in demanding conditions.
Recent combat operations have illustrated the growing role of one-way attack (OWA) drones in modern conflicts. In the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukrainian forces deploy hundreds of commercial-off-the-shelf drones nightly to strike positions beyond the front lines. Similarly, in April 2024, Iran launched several hundred drones—alongside cruise and ballistic missiles—from western Iran toward Israel, covering more than 1,000 kilometers. At unit costs in the tens of thousands of dollars, a swarm of 500 drones represents an expenditure of $50–100 million. Even with attrition rates of 80–90 percent, such swarm attacks can degrade defended targets and overwhelm unprotected assets. These dynamics are reshaping the economics of aerial strikes, shifting procurement toward mass-produced, low-cost systems employed by the hundreds rather than as single, expensive platforms.
Alongside the drones themselves, operators require rapid-deployment launch solutions. Iran’s truck-mounted launcher for Shahed-136 OWA drones, which fires five vehicles in quick succession, resembles a multiple-launch rocket system in form and function. Israel’s IAI Harop launcher similarly mounts six drones on a vehicle chassis disguised as a commercial container. In both cases, persistent surveillance and intelligence support are needed to detect and characterize these platforms, which blend into civilian logistics vehicles.
Selected participants in Project Artemis include Swan—a U.S. software developer partnered with a Ukrainian UAS integrator—alongside with its own Ukrainian collaborator. Each team must deliver ground-launchable vehicles capable of low-altitude flight, beyond-line-of-sight operations, and robust performance in environments with disrupted, disconnected, intermittent, or low-bandwidth communications. These requirements reflect user feedback on the need for systems that can adapt autonomously when conventional networks are degraded or denied.
To cover a spectrum of mission sets, Artemis defines stringent performance targets. Prototypes must achieve ranges between 50 km and at least 300 km, carry payloads of no less than 10 kg—ideally above 25 kg—and remain affordable for high-volume production. That payload capacity may accommodate a warhead for hardened targets, an EW jamming suite, or an ISR sensor package. Ground-launch capability ensures employment from forward-deployed or expeditionary locations, while DIL-rated communications and navigation systems sustain mission continuity in the absence of GPS or secure data links.
Project Artemis also employs an expedited acquisition model. In just over four months, DIU and A&S moved from problem definition to contract awards, processing 165 proposals and conducting flight demonstrations to verify performance claims. Awardees are expected to deliver functional prototypes by the close of FY 2025. This streamlined pathway bypasses traditional procurement timelines, reflecting lessons from recent conflicts where the speed of fielding and iterative upgrades have delivered operational advantages.
Combat experience in Eastern Europe has further driven demand for EW-resilient systems. Ukrainian forces have repurposed commercial UAS into attritable attack and reconnaissance assets, proving the value of flexible, easily manufactured platforms. By pairing U.S. contractors with Ukrainian developers, DIU seeks to harness that frontline expertise and accelerate the maturation of solutions tested under real-world pressures.
Project Artemis complements the broader Pentagon “Replicator” initiative, which aims to field thousands of autonomous systems across multiple domains to counter massed adversary forces. Artemis’s emphasis on cost-effective, one-way prototypes aligns with Replicator’s goal of scalable attritable platforms. Both efforts expand the defense industrial base by incorporating non-traditional suppliers and international partners, reinforcing the Department’s commitment to more agile and distributed procurement.
Among the Artemis demonstrations, Dragoon Technology integrates Teledyne FLIR’s Prism Supervisor and Prism SKR software into its Cinder UAS prototype. Prism SKR delivers automatic target recognition (ATR) for infrared and visible sensors on low-power processors, enabling real-time detection, identification, and tracking. Prism Supervisor provides end-to-end autonomy and mission oversight, linking navigation systems with AI-driven observations through a streamlined planning interface. Together, these capabilities reduce operator workload and support increasingly complex mission profiles.
As prototypes reach maturity, Project Artemis will generate data on performance, reliability, and cost metrics in contested settings. Those insights will inform follow-on acquisition decisions and guide integration into joint force structures. By prioritizing rapid prototype delivery and leveraging combat-proven partnerships, Artemis marks a shift toward faster, more scalable UAS procurement—balancing urgent operational needs with the requirement for proven, effective capabilities.
Originally published Industry Teams Advance Rapid Prototyping of Long-Range UAS under DIU’s Project Artemis on by https://defense-update.com/20250526_industry-teams-advance-rapid-prototyping-of-long-range-uas-under-dius-project-artemis.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=industry-teams-advance-rapid-prototyping-of-long-range-uas-under-dius-project-artemis at Defense Update
Originally published Defense Update
