Suitable Warfighting Adaptive Payloads (SWAP-USV)

Problem

The cost-exchange ratio for detecting and neutralizing asymmetric maritime threats in contested environments is heavily skewed in favor of the adversary. Bad actors deploy low-cost, low-signature threats—including explosive Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs), Group 1–3 Unmanned Aircraft System (UASs), "go-fast" smuggling boats, and semi-submersibles.

Currently, the Department of War (DoW) relies on exquisite, multi-million-dollar naval and aviation assets to intercept these inexpensive targets. The Government requires affordable, scalable, production-ready maritime systems capable of persistent search, tracking, and operational effects against asymmetric threats. The Government seeks innovation combinations of USVs and UASs that maximize operational effectiveness while improving the cost-exchange ratio across a range of mission profiles.

Solution

The Government and the Department of War Innovation Unit (DIU) seek to partner with established maritime manufacturers, autonomy developers, sensor manufacturers, and UAS developers to execute a multi-phase Prize Challenge under 10 USC 4025 with up to $100M in available funding.

The DoW is relying on industry to provide inexpensive and scalable solutions that combine proven USVs with mature drone capabilities to extend sensing, targeting, communications, and defeat of hostile threats through kinetic and non-kinetic effects at scale. 

This competition will be executed as a 12-Month Prize Challenge with rolling submission windows divided into three Sprint cohorts. In order to be considered for Sprint 1, submissions must be received by 8/10/2026 @ 2359 EST. Future submission windows will be published after the completion of Sprint 1. See “Challenge Series & Rolling Sprints” for additional details.

Desired Solution Attributes

The Department of War (DoW) seeks mature, market-ready USVs fully integrated with two or more mature, market-ready aerial drones to detect, identify, track, and defeat hostile threats. This program aims to fill a critical gap in low cost sensing and defeat within the maritime environment. 

The USV solution must demonstrate a minimum operational range of 200 nautical miles and a sustained cruise speed of at least 10 knots. These values represent threshold requirements for consideration; however, the government seeks the highest-performing solutions, and top performers are expected to substantially exceed these minimums. 

The USV solution should enable the following operations:

1. Carry, launch, control, and employ a minimum of two UAS, collectively capable of kinetic strike with a minimum 2kg payload and battle damage assessment (BDA). The UAS should include multiple system types to include a mix of recoverable/reusable and single use/one-way attack (OWA). The UASs should be technically mature and have an established production line. 
2. Navigation to user-defined waypoints, patrol designated areas, loiter on station, and reposition in response to operator commands or mission objectives. 
3. Safely operate in blue water, littoral, and brown water environments.
4. Detect, identify, and track surface targets using onboard sensors and/or launched drones, providing operators with real time situational awareness and the ability to direct drone employment as required.

The UAS solution should enable the following operations:

1. Seamless launch from the USV.
2. If utilizing expendable or loitering munitions, the design emphasizes a low cost per operational effect and fail-safe mission-abort protocols to prevent unexploded ordnance hazards.
3. Detect, classify, and maintain persistent custody of threats at extended ranges. Drones should support one or more operational effects, including ISR, comms relay, electronic warfare, payload delivery, or precision engagement of moving or stationary, as applicable, under operator command.   
4. If recoverable, the UAS should be capable of safe and repeatable recovery aboard the USV while underway and in representative sea states with minimal operator intervention

Desired Primary Attributes

Persistent Area Search and Interdiction

The solution provides persistent, low-cost autonomous surveillance and interdiction of defined maritime operating areas, maximizing operational coverage, probability of detection, interdiction effectiveness, and time on station while minimizing daily operating cost, logistics burden, and required personnel. Solutions that deliver greater sustained area coverage and operational effectiveness at lower cost will be evaluated more favorably.

UAS System Operations

Able to carry, launch, control, and employ a minimum of two UAS, one of which must carry a 2kg+ kinetic payload. Solutions should demonstrate reliable integration between the USV, UAS, sensors, and C2 systems. All engagement capability is desired to be capable of remote operation, with appropriate safety measures such that the USV may be recovered and reused. The USV and all embarked UAS assets shall support First Person View (FPV) Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) operations, enabling operators to maintain positive control of both maritime and airborne assets throughout mission execution. Solutions that support larger onboard drone quantities, higher payload capacity, sortie generation rates, or generate effects against both maritime surface threats and low-altitude airborne threats will be viewed favorably during evaluation. The Government encourages offerors to propose innovative mixes of UAS classes and employment concepts that optimize mission effectiveness. Solutions may combine reusable, attritable, and expendable aircraft of differing payload capacities, ranges, endurance, and operational roles where doing so improves overall system performance.

Mature System

Solutions must include a complete mission ready USV with integrated drone capability system available for testing and evaluation within 29 days of down-selection for Sprint 1. Solution briefs must address prior operational demonstrations, system maturity, proven integration, command-and-control architecture, and TRL. The Government is seeking production-ready capabilities and is not interested in conceptual designs, developmental efforts, or prototype-only solutions. Offers must demonstrate an established manufacturing capability and active production line for both the USVs and UASs. Solutions demonstrating greater production, scalability and surge capacity will be viewed more favorably during evaluation. Industry partnerships and teaming arrangements that are not sufficiently mature in time for the September evaluation may be considered during subsequent evaluation windows. 

Open Architecture and Teaming

Solutions should leverage market-ready technologies and support modular integration of UAS, sensors, payloads, and software from multiple vendors. The Government encourages teaming arrangements that combine mature USV platforms with proven drone capabilities and other best-of-breed technologies to deliver an integrated, mission-ready solution. Solutions that demonstrate integration and operational employment of multiple drone types from different manufactures will be viewed favorably during evaluation. Open, interoperable architectures that enable rapid integration of new payloads, sensors, and autonomous capabilities over time are highly encouraged.  

Desired Secondary Attribute(s)

Low Burden Logistics

Able to be moved and launched via standard vehicles without specialized equipment and transportable via common cargo containers such as a forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU), on common cargo aircraft (e.g., C-17 or C-130), and road trailers. Solutions that can launch from unimproved locations or provide additional launch flexibility, i.e. remotely from a container, will be looked upon favorably.

Resilient Comms and Localization

Able to operate in various degrees of denied, disrupted, intermittent and limited (DDIL) conditions. Systems must have resilient communications pathways to operators at various ranges to allow for direct operator supervision and be able to localize in environments where Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) may be denied, degraded or spoofed for indeterminate periods of time.

Autonomous Maritime Operations 

USVs and drones should be able to autonomously navigate to user-defined waypoints, patrol designated areas, loiter on station, autonomously follow or shadow a vessel of interest, and autonomously intercept a noncooperative, maneuvering vessel. Autonomous execution of these functions is desired but not required.

Additional Evaluation Criteria

Details must be provided in the solution proposal. These additional elements will be evaluated during proposal review, down-selection gates, and live testing:

Additional evaluation criteria may be applied during Test Event 2 and any follow-on testing in response to changing operational end user needs.

Challenge Series & Rolling Sprints

This competition is executed as a 12-Month Prize Challenge with rolling submission windows divided into three Sprint cohorts. The Government reserves the right to assign applicants to cohorts based on technical and manufacturing maturity. In order to be considered for Sprint 1, submissions must be received by 8/10/2026 @ 2359 EST. Future submission windows will be published after the completion of Sprint 1.

Follow-On Opportunities

Companies that successfully clear all test events within their designated sprint cohorts will be eligible to be selected as recipients of procurement contracts and other agreements. The Government has budgeted $200M to award to eligible company(ies) prototype or follow-on production Other Transaction (OT) authority agreements under 10 USC 4022, based on performance within this Prize Challenge, to support additional prototyping and system improvements as well as scaled production and sustained theater integration. The Government may also make procurements for experimental purposes under 10 USC 4023.

Dynamic Test Event Profiles

Selected systems must successfully execute the following evaluation events to qualify for prize awards and follow-on prototyping agreements:

Submission Guidelines & Requirements

Submission Models

This solicitation is open to U.S. and international vendors. The Government encourages submissions from integrated teams as well as standalone USV, UAS, and payload providers. Vendors with existing partnerships are encouraged to submit integrated solutions; however, standalone submissions are equally encouraged to maximize participation and enable Government-directed integration or matchmaking among complementary vendors during testing, down selection, or follow-on awards. Standalone submissions must provide sufficient interface documentation to support future integration. 

Offerors may propose multiple USV/UAS variants or platform mixes within a single submission. For each proposed configuration, offerors should identify a recommended or representative platform mix and describe the associated advantages, limitations, and tradeoffs relative to the intended reference mission or operational design scenario. Offerers are encouraged to propose multiple UAS employment concepts where different configurations optimize different operational tradeoffs (i.e. magazine depth, range, payload capacity, persistence, or cost-per-effect).

What to Submit

• Target Cohort: The proposal cover page must explicitly state the targeted deadline (e.g., "Targeting Sprint 1 – Urgent Evaluation" or "Targeting Sprint 2 – Rolling Review").
• Pitch Deck Format: Submitted as a horizontal 16:9 widescreen PDF slide deck, limited to a maximum of 15 slides.
• Operator Training Curriculum: Down-selected vendors must submit training materials and operating curricula prior to Test Event 2 to allow DoW operators to complete recommended training before live scoring.

Execution Costs & Risk

• The Government does not guarantee selection or cover proposal costs. Vendors must bear all internal travel, logistics, and deployment costs for dynamic in-water testing. The Government will bear its own travel costs to evaluate Test Event 1.
• Selected vendors must be prepared to conduct integrated in-water testing of the vessel within 29 days of down-selection for Sprint 1.

Intellectual Property Considerations

Applicants retain ownership of existing Intellectual Property (IP) submitted under this Challenge and agree that their submissions are their original work. Applicants are presumed to have sufficient rights to submit the submission. For any submission made to the Challenge, you grant DIU a limited license to use this IP for testing and evaluation for efforts specifically related to the Challenge. DIU will negotiate with individual competitors in the event additional usage, integration, or development is contemplated. 

About the War Department Innovation Unit

The Department of War Innovation Unit (DIU) strengthens national security by accelerating the adoption of commercial technology in the War Department and bolstering our allied and national security innovation bases. DIU partners with organizations across the DoW to rapidly prototype and field dual-use capabilities that solve operational challenges at speed and scale. 

Satisfying Competition Requirements

This DIU Prize Challenge, executed under 10 USC §4025, is considered a competitive procedure and DIU reserves the right to cancel, suspend, and/or modify the Challenge, or any part of it, for any reason, at DIU's sole discretion. The Government reserves the right to award a contract or an Other Transaction agreement for prototyping, as a result of this competition.  

The Federal Government is not responsible for any monies expended by the applicant before award and is under no obligation to pursue such transactions.