Perennial Autonomy Scores $500M JIATF 401 IDIQ

Well, looks like the Pentagon is getting super-serious about c-UAS, what with everything happening in the Middle East. Late yesterday, Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF 401) announced that it’s awarded a $500M IDIQ to Perennial Autonomy—the super-secret startup reportedly launched by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt—to provide “enterprise-wide counter-unmanned aerial system operations.” The company—which has stayed relatively under the radar despite being pretty active in Ukraine and CENTCOM—will provide “a range of artificial intelligence-enabled counter-UAS, including Merops interceptors, Bumblebee quadcopters and Hornet midrange strike drones, which are currently being employed by forces operating in U.S. Central Command.” Everyone in Silicon Valley really is jumping on the defense tech train, huh? It’s a bird, it’s a plane: You might be sitting there scratching your head, like, wait, wasn’t Schmidt’s drone company called something else? You’re right—the startup was reportedly founded in 2023 under the name White Stork, then pivoted to Project Eagle, and is now operating under the name Perennial Autonomy. The company has stayed, like, very quiet, but here’s what we know. Here’s what they make: All of the company’s products are designed to be super-resistant to jamming, what with the whole “developed in Ukraine” thing. Big leagues: Under this new contract, JIATF 401 will buy up to $500M of these systems (remember, it’s an IDIQ) as needed so they “can be rapidly scaled and sustained in response to evolving threats.” “[JIATF 401] continues to advance our counter-drone capabilities by fielding systems that can operate across multiple domains and integrate with existing command and control architectures,” JIATF 401 Director Brig. Gen. Matt Ross said in a statement. “This partnership provides the joint force with state-of-the-art, counter-UAS capability to remain lethal on today’s modern battlefield.”