A C100 multi-purpose drone in flight. (Performance Drone Works)
By Troy Turner
The U.S. Army has awarded Huntsville-based Performance Drone Works LLC a nearly $15.3 million contract for a package of systems that includes UAVs with drop and/or surveillance capabilities and ground control devices.
Specifically, the contract calls for the 40 of the company’s signature C100X MRD Mission Bundles (mechanical release device), 80 of its Next Vision Raptor EO/IR systems (electro-optical/infrared, designed for long-range aerial surveillance and reconnaissance), and 17 units of its UXV SROC Ground Control Stations (handheld ground-control ability).
The deal supports the Army’s Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Product Office, which was established in a marketplace strategy aimed at expediting the acquisition process.
Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 20, 2027.
Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting agency.
Performance Drone Works (PDW) provides a wide array of drone engineering and production services, including for public safety and industry needs in addition to defense contracts.
It also works with more than a dozen other technology and engineering partner companies.
PDW’s “Drone Factory 01” in Huntsville.
The War Department in February announced that 25 vendors, including three with Alabama ties, were invited to compete in Phase I of the Drone Dominance Program, an acquisition reform effort designed to rapidly field low-cost, unmanned one-way attack drones at scale.
Performance Drone Works was one of the three from Alabama.
The Department plans to be fielding “hundreds of thousands” weaponized, one-way attack drones ready for combat by 2027.
Troy Turner is the editor and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. His bio can be found here.
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