# Perennial Autonomy is awarded a $500 million contract by the Department of Defense.

*aerospace · news · 2026-05-19 · AL.com*

## Key points

- The Department of Defense awarded Perennial Autonomy a $500 million contract for drone interceptors.
- The contract aims to accelerate deployment of low-cost, attritable air-to-air drone interceptors.
- Artificial-intelligence-enabled counter-drone systems are already being used by U.S. Central Command in the Middle East.
- The contract will run for three years and supports both domestic and international defense installations.

America’s race to counter emerging drone threats has been boosted by a $500 million contract the Department of Defense has awarded to California-based Perennial Autonomy. In an announcement Monday, the Pentagon’s Joint Interagency Task Force 401 said the contract would accelerate the department’s “capacity to deploy and scale low-cost, attritable air-to-air drone interceptors to protect warfighters and power projection platforms at home and abroad.” The three-year contract includes artificial-intelligence-enabled counter-drone systems currently being employed by the U.S. Central Command in the Middle East, the organization said. “Drones are the defining threat of our time,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, director of the task force, in a statement released by Perennial Autonomy. “The proliferation of inexpensive unmanned aerial systems allows nonstate actors and individuals to access intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and precision strike tools in ways that were previously only available to state actors. We must be proactive with creating a layered defense that deploy and scale low-cost, attritable air-to-air drone interceptors at all our facilities at home and abroad.”

**Countries:** United States, California

[Read the full story on AL.com](https://www.al.com/news/2026/05/firm-gets-500-million-contract-for-technology-tested-in-ukraine-to-counter-drone-threats.html)

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