Twentynine Palms, California. (December 6, 2024): As the saying goes, bureaucracies strangle innovation. To cut through the red tape, the Defense Department has created an agency to accelerate the process of absorbing new technologies, in this case drones. In this photo by Devon Bistarkey, the Defense Innovation Unit is using drone operators and experts to field test, evaluate, and accelerate the adoption of commercial technology by the military. The Agency holds periodic “Challenges” like these to allow companies to compete by demonstrating their latest innovations to the Military.

These Innovation Unit team Challenges attract drone operators and test experts of various uncrewed aerial systems from all over the world. The purpose of this event was to directly evaluate Unmanned Aerial System platforms and assess rapid-update software. If selected, the approved drones may join the UAS list for rapid deployment.

The Agency also evaluates a company’s ability to produce large quantities of commercially produced drones at an accelerated pace, and then deliver them into the hands of DOD. The Agency awards contracts to commercial tech companies under fast and flexible contracts to get the very best in the latest technology.

These Innovation Unit team Challenges hope to encourage tech driven firms to bring their latest ideas to our nation’s defense.