Collaborative Autonomous UAS for Distributed Non-Kinetic Effects

During pre-release, until the topic opens on Dec 2, 2026, you may contact the topic author directly with technical questions. After that, questions go through the Topic Q&A on DSIP.

Develop, integrate, and demonstrate modular technologies enabling Group 2/3 UAS or similarly expendable autonomous aircraft to collaboratively generate distributed non-kinetic mission effects in contested environments. The objective is to enable multiple low-cost autonomous platforms to coordinate sensing, positioning, task allocation, timing, communications, and payload employment to produce useful mission-level effects without requiring continuous human control or persistent high-bandwidth communications. The desired architecture should employ a human-on-the-loop approach, allowing autonomous systems to conduct distributed mission execution while retaining oversight, positive control, and the ability for human operators to intervene when required. The Government is particularly interested in technologies that distribute mission capability across multiple affordable aircraft rather than concentrating sensing, processing, communications, or effects on a single exquisite platform.

The full objective, description, Phase I, II and III requirements and evaluation criteria are in the official topic on DSIP.