NATO has opened a counter-drone marketplace where its members can buy 16 systems from five companies without running a tender of their own. The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) launched it on 5 November.
The five are Alta Ares, Axon, Northrop Grumman, OSL UK and Quantum Systems. Axon, the maker of Taser stun guns and police body cameras, owns the counter-drone company Dedrone. NCIA says all 16 systems are already in use in allied countries and in Ukraine. It has not said which system comes from which company, or what any of them cost.
Four jobs to cover
NCIA judged the bids against four tasks. One is guarding a single site, such as a command post. Another is an area up to 3 kilometres across, such as an airbase. The third is a 20-kilometre stretch of border, and the fourth a convoy up to 300 metres long moving at up to 50 km/h.
The systems chosen include fixed, transportable and mobile ones.
Short contracts on purpose
The framework contracts run for 18 months from signature and can be extended. The threat changes so fast, NATO says, that it will hold new competitions regularly to bring in newer technology. It has also set aside €3.1 million for extra testing that countries or NATO commands need.
The marketplace is part of Drone Edge, a plan allies launched at NATO’s defence industry forum in Ankara in July. Under it, they have committed to spend more than $40 billion on counter-drone systems over five years.
