Contracts have been awarded to a mix of mid-size, non-traditional and venture-backed companies.

“Replicator is demonstrating from the top and across the enterprise how to deliver all kinds of capability at speed and scale,” said Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks at the National Defense Industry Association 2024 Emerging Technology for Defense Conferencein Washington, D.C. “What we’ve done in under 12 months can take seven-to-ten years. At the end of the day, all our efforts are conditioning DoD, Congress, and the private sector for the battlespace of the future, and the pace of change necessary to succeed.”

“Selected systems promise to bring formidable capability into the larger portfolio of unmanned systems that will be vital to protecting our interests in the region,” said Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Navy Adm. Samuel J. Paparo. “This is an important step in augmenting our traditional combatant force, and providing commanders with a greater range of capabilities and employment options to increase our tactical and strategic advantage.”

DIU and the Navy have contracted with selected companies following a competitive evaluation of production capacity, vehicle performance, and autonomy capabilities of each of their sUSVs. Of particular importance, the Navy and DIU are evaluating the readiness of each prototype for high-rate production, in line with Replicator’s ambitious timelines.

“Non-traditional defense companies play an essential role in the sUSV interceptor effort,” said DIU Director Doug Beck. “This is yet another example demonstrating the Department’s growing ability to leverage leading commercial and dual-use technologies to meet critical and emerging national security needs and put capability in the hands of the warfighter, fast, while broadening the defense industrial base for the future.”