Find the Right Path to Working With DIU

1. Problem Statement

The U.S. Department of War (DoW) has identified unmanned systems as urgent and enduring threats. Legacy sensor suites lack the sensitivity required to detect and track the low radar cross section and flight profiles of modern small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), creating critical vulnerabilities for forces in garrison, in transit, and at distributed sites. Additionally, the cost, size, and sustainment burden of existing sensor systems prevent the scale necessary to protect geographically dispersed units and infrastructure.

Through this Area of Interest, the DoW seeks to leverage mature and emerging commercial sensing technologies to deliver scalable, survivable, and life‑saving counter‑sUAS (C‑sUAS) sensing capabilities to the warfighter.

2. CSO Phase 2 Pitch and Demonstration (Spring 2026 – Yuma Proving Ground, AZ)

Due to the urgency of the threat and the need to assess capability readiness, the Government plans to request selected solutions for Phase 2 of the CSO process to participate in a live demonstration at the company's expense. The demonstration is planned for Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), Arizona. Additional range coordination details, including security protocols for U.S. and non‑U.S. citizens, will be provided upon selection.

Invited companies may have 30 days or less between notification and execution of the demonstration. Due to this requirement, companies must submit a DD Form 1494 (Application for Equipment Frequency Allocation) with their Phase 1 proposal.

3. Desired Solution Attributes

Proposed solutions are organized into two Lines of Effort (LOE). Offerors may submit proposals for one or both LOEs; however, proposals must address the full set of requirements associated with the selected LOE. Proposal submission must include which LOE you are submitting against in the title of your proposal document.

4. Line of Effort 1 (LOE 1): Homeland Defense Sensing

LOE 1 solutions are intended to establish a persistent, high‑fidelity protective sensing layer over fixed installations within the United States. Systems must operate safely near populated areas, within congested airspace, and across complex electromagnetic environments dominated by lawful emitters. The intended application includes replacement or augmentation of legacy fixed‑site sensing systems.

Solutions may employ single or multi‑modal sensing to enhance the radar solution, however the solution must include a radar sensor as part of the total proposal. LOE 1 solutions are preferred to be production or near-production ready. 

Primary Attributes

These attributes will be the focus of the evaluation in CSO Phase 2, and phase 2 selectees will be required to share sensor data with the evaluation team. The team will require data output in human-readable ASCII format (minimal).

Sensing Performance:

A. Ability to consistently detect and track all Group 1 UAS types at ranges of 2 km or greater; increased range and track accuracy is preferred.

B. Autonomous classification of detected tracks, distinguishing small UAS from non‑UAS objects; unresolved tracks may be designated as “unknown air tracks.”

C. Effective discrimination of biological clutter, ground clutter, and false tracks to maintain a clean air picture.

D. Simultaneous detection and tracking of multiple UAS threats.

System Characteristics

E. Compatibility with existing shore power or standard U.S. military generators (5 kW–30 kW).

F. Provision of radar cross section (RCS) data for detected targets.

G. Rapid integration capability with Government‑designated C‑UAS fire control systems.

H. All‑weather engineering sufficient to maintain performance in adverse environmental conditions.

I. Ease of operator usability with a preference toward the ability to reduce sensor calibration times, mean time between failures, and maximize field maintenance efficiency by operators

Secondary Attributes

J. Capability to detect, track, and classify Group 2 and Group 3 UAS with actionable data on threat disposition

K. Provision of a 360‑degree azimuth and 30‑degree elevation search air picture, with up to 90‑degree elevation in track coverage; distributed architectures are acceptable.

L. Ability to steer search and track elevation below 0 degrees relative to sensor emplacement.

M. Desired minimum detection range between 50m and 500m, with preference toward shorter ranges.

N. Ability or path to detect and track hovering UAS exhibiting 0 Hz Doppler characteristics.

O. Capability or planned development path to provide physical target length estimates.

P. Tracking accuracy sufficient to support downstream effector, sensor cueing, and multi-modal sensor fusion, expressed in azimuth and elevation error.

Q. Track update rates between 4 Hz and 10 Hz.

R. Ability to comply with DoD Instruction 8510.01 (Risk Management Framework for DoD Systems), all information technology products and systems that receive, process, store, display, or transmit DoD information must obtain a formal Authorization to Operate (ATO), which signifies that an Authorizing Official (AO) has reviewed the system's security posture and deemed the residual risk acceptable to the Department of Defense ATO).

LOE 1 proposals should include, at a minimum:

• Power requirements and operating profiles.
• Detection and tracking ranges for Group 1 (small, medium, large) and Group 2 UAS, including test methodology or references to prior Government demonstrations.
• Minimum detection range.
• Expected performance below 50 m AGL.
• Track management limits, including merge and separation constraints.
• List of U.S. military C‑UAS command and control systems integrated to date.
• Azimuth and elevation search coverage and track elevation limits.
• Track update rates and azimuth/elevation error metrics (mrad).
• Identification of any cloud compute dependencies.

5. Line of Effort 2 (LOE 2): Mobile (“On‑the‑Move”) Tactical Sensing

LOE 2 solutions are intended to provide small units with resilient, mobile sensing capabilities while stationary and on the move. Systems must function in GNSS‑denied or degraded environments and maintain low physical and spectral signatures to support survivability in contested battlespaces. The solution's ability to deliver early warning, allowing units to take protective action, is critical and depends upon a low physical and spectral signature to prevent targeting by enemy forces. All sensing modalities are welcome, with preference for passive approaches.

Primary Attributes

Operational Resilience

A. Effective operation in GNSS‑denied, degraded, intermittent, and limited environments.

B. Performance in dense, congested, and rapidly changing RF environments.

C. Ability to rapidly adapt to evolving threats

Mobility and Survivability

D. Detection, tracking, and classification while stationary and on the move.

E. Minimal setup and teardown time between operational states. Additionally, the Government prefers solutions with reduced set-up for initial operation including calibration time, reconfiguration time, mean time between failures, and efficient operator level repairs.

F. Low observable physical and spectral characteristics appropriate for tactical employment.

System Architecture

G. Incorporation of redundant sensing elements to prevent single‑point failure.

H. Use of multiple sensors, with preference for passive modalities, to enhance overall performance.

I. Simultaneous detection and tracking of multiple UAS threats.

Sensor Performance and Integration Attributes

J. Operating ranges appropriate to sensor modality, with preference toward greater detection distances.

K. Broad‑spectrum RF sensing (e.g., approximately 400 MHz–8 GHz) for passive solutions, including adaptability to evolving UAS data links.

L. Discrimination of biological and ground clutter to maintain a usable air picture.

M. Provision of target length data; radar‑based solutions should also provide RCS data.

N. Track quality sufficient to support cueing of effectors and complementary sensors.

Platform Integration and Usability

O. Mounting compatibility with Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV), and Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT).

P. Compact form factor and power solutions suitable for vehicle integration.

Q. Use of Modular Open Systems Architectures (MOSA) to enable rapid integration with Government‑designated C‑UAS command and control systems.

R. The system must reduce operator burden with intuitive controls for detection, tracking, and alert management. It must be configurable and adaptable by tactical operators to the dynamic front-line RF environment without requiring support from engineering personnel.

Cybersecurity

S. Solutions, if selected through prototyping phase, will be required to comply with DoD Instruction 8510.01 (Risk Management Framework for DoD Systems), all information technology products and systems that receive, process, store, display, or transmit DoD information must obtain a formal Authorization to Operate (ATO), which signifies that an Authorizing Official (AO) has reviewed the system's security posture and deemed the residual risk acceptable to the Department of War.

LOE 2 proposals should include, at a minimum:

• Power requirements.
• Detection ranges for Group 1 (small, medium, large) and Group 2 UAS, including test methodology or references.
• Minimum detection range.
• Expected performance below 50 m AGL.
• Track management limits and separation requirements.
• List of U.S. military C‑UAS command and control systems integrated to date.
• Azimuth and elevation search coverage and tracking limits.
• Track update rates and azimuth/elevation error metrics (mrad).
• Cloud compute dependencies, if any.
• Setup and teardown time.
• Maximum vehicle speed while maintaining effective sensing.
• For RF sensors: frequency coverage, emission types detected, and depth of detection (detection, classification, localization).
• Methods for reducing false positives from lawful or authorized emitters.
• Identification of spectrum emissions for active sensors.
• Identification of Friend or Foe (IFF) integrations.

6. Additional Proposal Writing Information  

• Cost Rough Order of Magnitude: To address the critical cost asymmetry between high-end C-sUAS sensors and low-cost UAS threats, proposals shall provide a ROM using the following structure:
  • Unit Pricing Tiers: Provide targeted pricing for the following procurement quantities:
    • Tier 1: 1–5 units
    • Tier 2: 6–25 units
    • Tier 3: 26–100 units



• Supporting technology: For company proposals with supporting technologies, such as software-only products: your solution must already be integrated into a physical sensor system and the hardware must be part of the proposal.
• Multiple Awards: The Government reserves the right to issue multiple awards for different components or LOEs within this AOI.
• Proposal Scope: Proposals must demonstrate a comprehensive ability to address the entirety of at least one LOE and the associated problem statement.

7. Teaming/Partnerships

The Government encourages teaming for responses to this solicitation. The government may seek to team companies with AI/ML solutions with companies that are integrators in the counter uncrewed systems technology space or request collaboration between two or more solutions to deliver a robust solution. Traditional defense contractors are reminded that under 10 USC 4022, if you do not qualify as a non-traditional defense contractor,, the government will require either a one-third cost share in the prototyping effort or that significant work is being performed with a non-traditional partner.

8. Awarding Instrument

This Area of Interest solicitation will be awarded in accordance with the Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) process detailed within HQ0845-20-S-C001 (DIU CSO), posted to SAM.gov on 23 March 2020. This document can be found at: https://sam.gov/opp/e74c907a9220429d9ea995a4e9a2ede6/view The Government requires cross functional collaboration/integration of technical outputs to ensure mission success. The Government intends to utilize this AOI in singularity, as well as a component of a more complex program, for which other AOI’s may be issued. Therefore, all solutions submitted in response to this AOI may be used to support other prototyping efforts advertised by DIU. All AOIs will be governed by Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) HQ0845-20-S-C001 dated 23 March 2020.

9. Follow-on Production

Companies are advised that any prototype Other Transaction (OT) agreement awarded in response to this Area of Interest may result in the award of a follow-on production contract or transaction without the use of further competitive procedures. The follow-on production contract or transaction will be available for use by one or more organizations in the Department of Defense and, as a result, the magnitude of the follow-on production contract or agreement could be significantly larger than that of the prototype OT. As such, any prototype OT will include the following statement relative to the potential for follow-on production: "In accordance with 10 U.S.C. 4022(f), and upon a determination that the prototype project for this transaction has been successfully completed, this competitively awarded prototype OTA may result in the award of a follow-on production contract or transaction without the use of competitive procedures."

Appendix

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Categorization Chart 

Problem Statement  

Long range, anti-ship weapons present a growing threat to US Navy ships and degrade their ability to accomplish a mission. While access to long range strike methods can mitigate this threat, Naval surface combatants are constrained in their ability to support long-range strikes over extended combat operations due to reliance on single-use missile systems, with limited magazine depth and limited at-sea munition replenishment capability. The long-range strike methods able to persistently support Naval surface combatants require infrastructure and assets which are vulnerable, limited or in high demand; including runways, and ships with large flight decks. 

Desired Solution Attributes 

To address this problem, the Department of the Navy desires an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) capable of supporting Naval surface combatants through executing long range strikes with standard munition payloads while providing tactical flexibility by operating from expeditionary locations with minimal infrastructure, or from ships without large flight decks. 

A solution brief’s Relevance and Technical Merit will be based on the ability of the system to achieve the Primary Attributes, and any Secondary Attributes. 

Primary Attributes 

• ​​​Expeditionary Operation – Interested in solutions that minimize infrastructure needs for launch, recovery, rearm, and refuel operations of the UAS. 
• Range with Payload - One-way, no-reserve range of at least 1400 nautical miles (NM) in ​​order to allow an approximate 600 NM radius. Interested in solutions that provide greater range while still allowing for expeditionary operation. 
• Payload – Deliver 1000-pound class munitions employed by existing naval aircraft, such as F/A-18 and F-35B/C, and/or palletized munitions. 
• Combat System Integration - Integrate with existing combat systems and with operator responsibilities typical for existing combat systems.  
• System Safety - Minimize operational and technical risk to infrastructure and personnel.  
• Personnel - Operate with minimal dedicated personnel for launch, flight, recovery, maintenance, navigation or communication. 
• Contested Operation - Operate, launch and recover in a spectrum of contested environments. 
• Open Systems - Utilize modular open systems approach (MOSA) in system design and development. Designed for modification and continual improvement. 
• Mission Autonomy – Incorporate mission autonomy to execute all mission phases in a highly contested environment. Autonomy should include dynamic route re-planning and re-tasking. 
• Cost-Effective & Risk Worthy- Optimize cost per effect; through balancing expectation of mission success in a contested environment, with the costs of procurement, certification and development. Demonstrate viability to operate in airspace with adversary threats, such as through survivability or attritability. 
• Maintainability and Repairability - Minimize the time and cost to maintain and repair the vehicle system. 
• Development Time - Minimize expected time and schedule risk to a validated mass production-ready capability. Solutions should demonstrate readiness for significant physical prototyping within 12 months of agreement award.  

Secondary Attributes 

• ​​​Maritime Operation – Refuel, rearm, and sortie from one or more surface combatant classes without a large flight deck (e.g. DDG-51, LCS-1, LCS-2, FF(X)/Legend Cutter). 
• Maritime Environmental Conditions - Capable of operating in most sea states, relative winds, pitch, roll, heave, environmental conditions and wave characteristics encountered during oceanic shipboard operation.  
• Qualification Scope - Reduce the qualification scope as much as practical, such as through identifying and eliminating potential operational hazards in the design phase.  
• Launch & Firing Latency - Reduce the latency from mission receipt to vehicle launch, and from mission receipt to the vehicle expending munitions at a firing point. 
• Vehicle Recovery Latency - Reduce the latency from vehicle recovery to a storage configuration, and from vehicle recovery to a launch configuration. 
• Vehicle Speed - Cruise at a speed comparable to existing long range strike methods. 

Solution Brief Submission Requirements 

Companies will submit a solution brief outlining their solution and addressing the Primary Attributes and Secondary Attributes. Solution characteristics which greatly differ from existing methods will benefit from greater substantiation and detail. Solution briefs should describe any government furnished equipment necessary for development and production. Submissions should meet the following format requirements and include necessary content outlined in CSO HQ0845-20-S-C001, available on SAM.gov and DIU.mil: 

• Solution Briefs should not exceed five (5) written pages using 12-point font, or
• Solution Briefs should not exceed fifteen (15) briefing slides 

Process 

Submissions will be evaluated in accordance with the procedures outlined in CSO HQ0845-20-S-C001 available on SAM.gov and DIU.mil. The CSO provides the framework for the phased process.  

The Government reserves the right to fund all, some, or none of the solutions received under this solicitation. Multiple solutions may be selected for early-stage prototyping and technology maturation activities that may include, but not limited to, risk identification and risk reduction sprints, initial development of minimally viable systems suitable for technical analysis, limited technical demonstration, and limited operational evaluation. The scope and duration of these activities may be tailored to address the technical, tactical, and programmatic risks associated with each solution. However, the Government also reserves the right to proceed directly to the development of a single prototype solution based on the merits of the solution and the assessed risks. 

The Government may conduct a further down-select process to identify a prototype(s) that offers the most advantageous technical merit, business value, and/or cost-effectiveness to support continued prototype development. Finally, spiral development efforts may be pursued for selected solution(s) to maximize capabilities.  

DoW requires companies without a CAGE code to register in SAM (https://sam.gov/SAM/) if selected for agreement award. The Government recommends that prospective companies begin this process as early as possible. 

Background

The Department of War (DoW) faces a robotic mass challenge: current methods for deploying and sustaining unmanned aerial systems (UAS) rely on direct human interaction to launch, recover, and refit each system. This 1:1 operator-to-aircraft model limits deployment speed and scale while exposing operators to unnecessary risks.

Problem

The DoW requires the ability to deploy large quantities of UAS rapidly, while minimizing the risk and burden to human operators executing kinetic and non-kinetic UAS operations in contested environments.

Desired Solution Attributes

The DoW seeks innovative solutions that enable the storage, rapid deployment, and management of multi-agent systems to provide either persistent UAS coverage over extended periods or massed effects within a single geographic region and time.

Proposed solutions should be demonstrable within 90 days of award and built upon principles of the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) to ensure future extensibility and improvement.

Solutions will be evaluated on their alignment, technical merit, and innovative approaches to support the sustainment and delivery of robotic multi-agent systems at scale in remote and austere environments.

The Government will preference solutions that:

• Enable Rapid and Easy Transport and Emplacement
  •  Flexible Transport Options: Designs can be transported by military or commercial vehicles (land, sea, air).
  •  Rapid Emplacement: Systems can be quickly positioned and made operational with minimal handling or setup.
• Manage the Full Operational Cycle of Stored Multi-Agent Systems
  • Continuous Readiness: Provides automated functions for drone storage, launching, recovering, and refitting within the containerized platform; the intent is for the system to exist in a dormant state for a period of time and launch UAS upon command.
  • System Modularity: Can support both homogeneous and heterogeneous mixes of Government-directed UAS.
  • Logistical Flexibility: Minimizes the system’s reliance on a single source of power by supporting multiple power sources–i.e., on-board power, off-board power, or shore power plug-ins.
  • Operational Relevance and Flexibility: Employable from land and maritime platforms, in both day and night conditions, and during inclement weather.
• Demonstrate the Capacity to Reduce Cognitive Burden and Support Tactical Operations
  • Rapid Employment: Supports rapid setup, employment, and displacement (measured in minutes).
  • Reduced Risk and Cognitive Load: Improves the operator-to-robot ratio and enables operators to program and launch systems remotely.
  • Minimal Crew Requirements: Minimizes the number of personnel required to conduct all functions associated with the storage, transport, movement, and operation of the system. Ideally, the system should require a crew of no more than 2 personnel.
• Support Resilient Command and Control (C2) and Open Architecture
  • Command Architecture: Software and control interfaces support future development and integration into Gov-directed C2 architectures; operators can control the system both remotely and locally.
  • Operator-System Interaction: Supports both operator-on-the-loop and operator-in-the-loop decision-making processes.
  • Architectural Mandate: Incorporates Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) principles, industry-standard interfaces and protocols, and the ability to integrate new hardware and software features in the future.
  • DDIL Resilience: The containerized UAS delivery system should be capable of or have a plan to operate in contested environments.

The Government understands that companies will likely not be able to meet all of the desired attributes in this solicitation, but encourages companies with demonstrable capability in one or more of these specifications to apply.

The Government will consider commercially designed and developed systems, vendors capable of rapidly manufacturing and integrating Government-owned designs, or a combination of both. Government Furnished Information (GFI) will be provided to vendors awarded under the CSO process, and will be considered optional for use to expedite integration, reduce redesign, and ensure interoperability. GFI may include:

• Reference hardware designs for containerized systems
• Baseline software architectures and orchestration frameworks
• Technical Data Packages (TDPs)
• Interface Control Documents (ICDs)
• Data/message protocol specifications and APIs
• Modeling and simulation environments

Background and Problem Statement

The Department of War (DoW) requires advanced sensor and seeker systems to support interceptor engagements against ballistic and hypersonic threats. As these threats continue to advance, there is an increasing need for systems leveraging diverse phenomenologies capable of high-fidelity identification, tracking and discrimination under extreme environmental conditions and on short time scales. These systems must deliver high data throughput while adhering to rigorous Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) constraints inherent to aerospace and interceptor platforms. A significant challenge remains in aligning these complex technical requirements with modern manufacturing efficiencies.

To address this, the DoW seeks to leverage advancements in commercial sensing and processing to prototype sensor and seeker solutions that support endo-atmospheric and/or exo-atmospheric engagements. The objective is to transition toward designs that are affordably produced, minimize supply chain risks, and maximize scalability to meet the urgent demand for space- and interceptor-based sensing capabilities.

Desired Solutions and Key Objectives

The DoW is seeking integrated sensing solutions to support the prototyping and demonstration of LIDAR/LADAR, EO/IR, RF, and other active or passive modalities, separately or in combination – that are capable of fire-control-quality detection, tracking and discrimination.

Key objectives include:

• Threat Detection, Tracking, and Discrimination: Demonstrate capabilities to detect, track and support the engagement of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) or Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGVs) across multiple flight phases (boost, midcourse, and glide). Advanced technologies to deliver the precise positional data and target characteristics required to reliably discriminate lethal payloads from non-threats, such as debris and countermeasures.
• Fire Control Enablement: Provide high-accuracy, real-time tracking data (including precise range, angular resolution and high update rates) necessary for successful Kinetic Kill Vehicle (KKV) engagements in endo-atmospheric and/or exo-atmospheric environments. Key characteristics for consideration:
  • Measurement type (e.g., range, angle, Doppler, intensity, polarization, spectral information).
  • The achievable measurement accuracy and update rates.
  • The processing approach (onboard vs. offboard, edge processing, AI/ML, sensor fusion).
  • How the system handles harsh environments (vibration, shock, thermal, vacuum, radiation, weather)
  • Timing or synchronization capabilities that support precise tracking (e.g., GPS-synchronized time stamping, clock accuracy, latency budget).

Key Solution Attributes

• Modular Form Factor: Sensor designs must be suitable for integration as either a primary seeker into a KKV or as a hosted payload on a space vehicle.
• Operational Durability: Designs must be compatible with a 5-year design life in Low Earth Orbit (LEO); seeker solutions must withstand high-dynamic launch and/or re-entry environments.
• Sensor Performance: Space-rated sensors are required to detect and discriminate hot or cold objects at LEO-ranges and high cross-track velocities, while functioning against both Earth and space backgrounds. This capability necessitates rapid initialization (within seconds), high frame rates, and substantial data throughput.
• Aggressive Prototyping Timeline: 
  • Lab-based demonstration (6 - 9 months from award): Benchtop or lab environment demonstration showing key performance metrics (e.g., detection, tracking, discrimination) using targets or scenes that are relevant to an engagement scenario (e.g., small, fast-moving, hot or cold objects against cluttered backgrounds).
  • On-orbit demonstration (12–24 months from award): An on-orbit demonstration as hosted payload in a relevant environment. DIU anticipates working with selected partners to integrate into a space vehicle.

Desired Attributes for Compelling Solutions

• Optimized SWaP-C: Designs that aggressively minimize Size, Weight and Power while maintaining mission-critical performance and low unit cost.
• Commercial Scalability: Solutions that prioritize "Design for Manufacturability" by leveraging commercial high-volume production processes and cross-industry components, i.e, 100+ units/year.
• Disruptive Economics: Proposers should demonstrate a path to a price point significantly lower than legacy defense-specific sensors when produced at scale.