AeroVironment has won a new contract for AI-powered technologies to help protect air bases from small unmanned aircraft systems, the company announced Monday.
The $80.5 million deal is the first contract to be executed under a $500 million contract with AV that the Army announced last week.
According to the contractor and the Department of Defense, the action is part of the Domestic Shield initiative led by Joint Interagency Task Force 401. JIATF-401 is an Army-led organization created last year to spearhead a wide range of counter-drone technology projects to help defend U.S. military installations and other locations against growing small UAS threats at home and abroad.
According to AV, the new order of operations will support “layered” base defense for the Air Force Global Strike Command, which will provide its Titan MS system and other technologies such as Titan 4, electro-optical/infrared camera payloads and anti-drone radar systems.
Titan-MS is an “AI-powered multi-sensor fusion solution that detects, identifies, tracks, responds to, and reports unmanned system threats,” the company wrote in a press release. The platform “combines AI and machine learning algorithms from industry-leading sensors to counter both RF-guided and autonomous drone threats.”
The Air Force Global Strike Command’s mission is to provide the joint force with long-range strike capabilities such as bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Earlier this year, Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, which falls under AFGCS, “experienced multiple unauthorized drone strikes that varied in duration and number of drones,” the command said in a news release in March.
AV is expected to deliver “a range of scalable c-UAS capabilities” under the new $500 million indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract with the Pentagon, according to an Army news release issued Sunday.
“A key element of these capabilities is their ability to be fully interoperable, which is a critical component of a strong, layered drone defense,” the press release states, noting that the technology can be tailored for stationary or mobile use.
The new task order for Titan defense drone capabilities will “provide detection and response options suitable for complex operational environments,” according to the press release.
“JIATF-401 continually works to strengthen the services’ capabilities to protect combat aircraft and individual installations,” Col. Jason Idleman, head of the task force’s Multi-Domain Operations Division, said in a statement. “This investment provides operators with the tools to detect, track and deter illegal drones. Bringing world-class technology to our warfighters enables them to respond effectively to these rapidly evolving threats.”
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Written by Jon Harper
Jon Harper is Editor-in-Chief of DefenseScoop. He leads an award-winning team of journalists who provide breaking news and in-depth analysis of military technology and the way it influences the way the Department of Defense operates and modernizes. You can also follow him on X: @Jon_Harper_
https://defensescoop.com/2026/07/06/pentagon-awards-task-order-to-av-for-titan-drone-defense/
