Department of War revamps counter-drone marketplace to widen access to vetted tech

The Department of War is expanding and upgrading its counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) marketplace to help military organizations, domestic law enforcement, and international allies and partners more quickly identify, evaluate, and acquire validated counter-drone technologies.

Built in partnership with Kaizen Laboratories, the application is designed to speed procurement by helping users find proven solutions, clarify acquisition pathways, and shorten fielding timelines. New features will allow authorized users to search for technologies based on operational requirements, review validated performance data, and purchase approved C-UAS products through a streamlined process.

“JIATF-401 remains focused on delivering the right counter-UAS capabilities to the right users at the right time,” said U.S. Army Maj. Mike Hapner, C-UAS marketplace lead for JIATF-401. “Our revolutionary marketplace, powered through our partnership with industry, creates a streamlined, trusted pathway for the Joint force, domestic law enforcement, and our international partners to rapidly discover and acquire validated technologies.”

The marketplace also aligns with the Secretary of the Army’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Fast Lane initiative. By integrating with existing acquisition pathways, it aims to accelerate requirements development and reduce FMS timelines. Under the process, industry partners submit products for inclusion in the FMS Fast Lane; JIATF-401, working with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Defense Exports & Cooperation (DASA DE&C), evaluates and pre-clears those products for Foreign Military Sales to enable seamless integration across the Joint force, partners, and Allies.

The effort is part of a broader push by JIATF-401 to strengthen collaboration among government, industry, and Allied nations while expanding access to trusted C-UAS capabilities. By providing a common platform with validated options, the marketplace is intended to help users make better-informed acquisition decisions and respond faster to evolving drone threats.

“Drones are a defining threat of our time,” said Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, director of JIATF-401. “The proliferation of small systems and small drones and the threat that they pose both to critical infrastructure and to defense critical assets requires us to move faster in this space. In order to address this threat, we are expanding the counter-UAS marketplace to allow us to share best practices and equipment globally.”

The JIATF-401 C-UAS Marketplace can be accessed at https://cuas.mil/.