The Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate has awarded a five-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract worth up to $1.5 billion for counter-unmanned aircraft systems, splitting 14 contractor slots across two tracks, according to a contract record posted to SAM.gov. The vehicle runs from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2031 and brings together a mix of established defense primes, systems integrators, and one small business under a single acquisition umbrella built to speed up how DHS components buy drone-detection and drone-defeat gear.
Background
Unauthorized drone activity near airports, ports, border crossings, and critical infrastructure has pushed DHS to consolidate its counter-drone buying into a dedicated contract vehicle rather than running one-off procurements for each component that needs the capability. Pedro Allende, DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology, framed the award as an acknowledgment that the department has been playing catch-up on the threat. "We're behind the hook," Allende said, adding that the department intends to keep every response option open: "Everything from layered defenses and arrest jamming to take-over to kinetic, nothing's off the table."
The IDIQ structure lets DHS components issue individual task orders against the vehicle without each one running a fresh full-and-open competition. That approach mirrors how the Pentagon has increasingly bought counter-drone capability in recent years, treating detection and mitigation as a recurring need rather than a one-time buy.
DHS Science and Technology has run counter-UAS research and prototyping efforts for several years, testing detection sensors and mitigation systems at federal facilities before those technologies reach the operational components that deploy them. Consolidating that work into a single five-year IDIQ gives the directorate a mechanism to move technology from evaluation into fielded use more quickly, since a component that identifies a capability gap can issue a task order against an already-vetted roster of 14 awardees instead of starting a new source-selection process from scratch. The vehicle's two-track design also reflects a recognition that DHS components have different needs: some want to own and operate their own detection and mitigation hardware, while others would rather pay a contractor to run the entire counter-drone mission as a managed service, including staffing, monitoring, and maintenance.
Key Details
The contract is split into two tracks with separate ceilings and separate rosters of awardees. Track One covers counter-UAS hardware, software, and ancillary services and carries a ceiling of roughly $1.01 billion. Its awardees are Dedrone Defense, D-Fend Solutions AD, Leidos, Fortem Technologies, CACI Inc.-Federal, BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services, and EMS Defense Technologies. Fortem Technologies is the sole small business on Track One; the company separately announced through BusinessWire on August 4 that it had been named a prime contractor on the more than $1 billion slice of the vehicle.
Track Two covers comprehensive and managed counter-UAS services and carries a ceiling of roughly $489 million. Its awardees are Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics Information Technology, Parsons Government Services, BAE Systems, Leidos, Anduril Industries, and Astrion Group. Leidos and BAE Systems hold spots on both tracks, meaning the two companies are positioned to compete for task orders regardless of whether a DHS component needs standalone equipment or a fully managed detect-and-defeat service.
Every company on the vehicle receives a minimum guarantee of $250, a standard IDIQ mechanism that ensures each awardee gets at least some work even if DHS concentrates most task-order spending with a handful of the 14 slots. The solicitation's underlying performance specification requires systems delivered under the contract to detect a drone at a range of at least two kilometers, track three or more simultaneous unmanned aircraft, and neutralize a threat at a range of at least 500 meters. Those thresholds apply across both tracks, giving DHS a common technical baseline to evaluate proposals against regardless of which component is buying or which track a task order falls under.
The five-year period of performance gives DHS runway to issue a steady stream of task orders rather than a single lump-sum buy, and the structure allows the department to shift spending toward whichever track proves more useful as operational experience accumulates. A component that starts by buying hardware under Track One could later shift to a managed-service task order under Track Two, or vice versa, without needing a new contract vehicle.
What It Means for Contractors
The award structure rewards companies that can either compete on pure technology or bundle technology into a managed service, and it explicitly makes room for a small business alongside prime-heavy competitors. Fortem Technologies' placement as the sole small business on the larger Track One ceiling gives it a level of exposure to DHS task-order spending that would be difficult to win through a stand-alone small-business set-aside, and it signals that DHS is willing to route sizable counter-drone task orders to a non-traditional player rather than defaulting entirely to the largest integrators.
For Leidos and BAE Systems, dual-track placement means broader eligibility: a DHS component that wants to buy sensors and effectors outright can turn to either company under Track One, while a component that wants a turnkey managed service can turn to the same companies under Track Two. That flexibility is likely to translate into a larger share of task-order dollars over the life of the five-year vehicle compared with single-track awardees, since dual-track companies can pursue whichever type of task order a given component decides to issue.
The performance thresholds baked into the contract — two-kilometer detection range, three-plus simultaneous track capability, 500-meter neutralization range — set a floor that companies bidding on individual task orders will need to clear or exceed, and they give program offices a concrete basis for evaluating proposals against a common technical baseline rather than negotiating specifications component by component. Companies that build counter-drone sensors, jammers, or interceptors but did not win a Track One or Two slot are locked out of this vehicle for five years unless DHS runs a follow-on on-ramp competition, which is common on large IDIQs but not guaranteed.
Contractors watching this space should track how DHS components structure their first task orders, since early awards will indicate whether the department favors hardware-centric buys, managed-service contracts, or a mix of both. Companies positioned as subcontractors to any of the 14 prime awardees may also see new teaming opportunities as those primes staff up to compete across DHS components with counter-drone requirements.
