Pentagon Moves Toward Counter Drone Marketplace

The Pentagon’s Joint Interagency Task Force 401 has taken an early step toward creating an online marketplace for counter drone technology with its first acquisition under the Replicator 2 effort, as Air and Space Forces reports.

The task force, which was established last fall, has purchased two DroneHunter F700 counter drone systems.

The Pentagon says the systems will be delivered to two undisclosed U.S. installations in April for further testing and operational use. The $3.5 million contract is small by defense acquisition standards, but officials say that is intentional.

JIATF 401 is focused on rapidly fielding systems that can be tested directly by warfighters, rather than building a traditional long term procurement program. The goal is to let operators experiment with available technology before the military decides whether to buy systems at scale.

Why the Pentagon is moving fast on counter drones

The Replicator initiative began in 2023 with the goal of rapidly producing large numbers of autonomous drones. Replicator 2 followed months later, shifting focus toward countering small unmanned aircraft threats after a series of drone incursions over military bases.

In late 2023, commercial drones were observed flying over Joint Base Langley Eustis in Virginia. Similar incidents were later reported over Air Force installations in Utah, Ohio, Germany, and multiple Royal Air Force bases in the United Kingdom.

These events raised concerns among lawmakers that domestic and overseas bases were vulnerable to inexpensive commercial drones.

U.S. Northern Command responded by developing deployable counter drone kits designed to be shipped to installations within 24 hours.

However, Pentagon officials say the DroneHunter purchase is not part of those flyaway kits. Instead, the systems are being sent to specific locations based on identified security gaps.

DroneHunter and the Amazon style vision

The DroneHunter F700, developed by Fortem Technologies, is a reusable interceptor drone designed to capture small low flying drones using a tethered net. The system relies on artificial intelligence to track and intercept targets and is intended for environments where minimizing collateral damage is critical.

Pentagon officials say systems like DroneHunter are better suited for domestic bases, where explosive counter drone measures would pose unacceptable risks to nearby communities and infrastructure.

Feedback from warfighters using DroneHunter will be published on a new Counter UAS Marketplace, which is expected to reach initial operating capability by March 1. According to task force officials, the platform will function similarly to an online shopping site, allowing installation commanders to review user feedback before selecting counter drone solutions for their own bases.

The task force plans to continue buying small quantities of specialized counter drone systems, using operational feedback to guide future decisions rather than mandating a single solution across all installations.

DroneXL’s Take

The Pentagon’s counter drone marketplace concept signals a shift away from slow centralized procurement and toward something closer to commercial tech adoption.

Letting operators test systems, share feedback, and choose tools that fit their threat environment mirrors how drone technology evolves in the civilian world.

If the marketplace works as intended, it could become a powerful model for keeping pace with fast moving drone threats without locking the military into outdated solutions.

Photo credit: Fortemtech, DOW, Wikipedia.

Last update on 2026-01-24 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API