US Army seeks man-portable interceptor to counter small drones
The US Army has issued a solicitation for a man-packable kinetic interceptor designed to defeat small drones at close range. Offers are due by 23 November.
The United States Army has issued a solicitation for a man-packable, kinetic counter-drone interceptor. It is meant for close-range defence against first-person-view (FPV) drones, which are piloted via an onboard camera, and multirotor-class unmanned aircraft. Offers from companies are due by 23 November.
Intended use
According to the solicitation, the interceptor should serve as a hard-kill option, meaning it physically destroys the target, for small teams operating in dismounted, mobile or infrastructure-limited environments. The system is to provide a localised defeat mechanism when electronic warfare options are unreliable, restricted or unavailable.
Electronic warfare in counter-drone defence generally involves jamming a drone's control or navigation signals. The new requirement points to a physical alternative for cases where such methods cannot be used.
Earlier training
The source notes that the US Army trained with an FD-1 counter-drone interceptor in Poland on 5 November 2026. Further details are available in the Army's synopsis and solicitation on SAM.gov, the US government's procurement portal.