Pentagon launches online marketplace for counter

The Department of Defense launched a counter-unmanned aerial system, or C-UAS, marketplace last week designed to make it easier for military and government agencies to find and acquire vetted counter-drone technology.

The marketplace was developed by the Joint Interagency Task Force 401, or JIATF 401, which leads the Defense Department’s effort to connect government agencies with companies developing counter-drone technology.

U.S. Army Maj. Mike Hapner, the C-UAS marketplace lead for JIATF 401, said the marketplace is intended to deliver “the right counter-UAS capabilities to the right users at the right time.”

Promotional materials make the marketplace look like a basic e-commerce website, but it is designed to do more than simply catalog products.

According to Kaizen Laboratories, which JIATF 401 contracted to build the platform, buyers can browse, filter and search products based on specific tactical needs, evaluate system performance data and submit acquisition requests.

Nikhil Reddy, Kaizen’s co-founder and chief executive officer, described the platform as “first-class digital tools that move with the threat environment, not behind it” and “a win for the entire defense ecosystem.”

JIATF 401 awarded Kaizen a $15 million contract to build the marketplace in May 2026 through an Other Transaction Agreement, a contracting mechanism often used to accelerate the development and acquisition of new technology.

Although the website is live, access is limited to approved buyers and sellers. According to the marketplace website, eligible buyers include federal procurement officers, military commands and pre-cleared allied or partner-nation defense ministries.

Vendors, meanwhile, must apply and complete a vetting process that allows program staff to verify their businesses, review export controls and evaluate their products. Once approved, vendors can publish listings and respond to buyer inquiries.

The marketplace is part of the Defense Department’s effort to streamline the acquisition of drone-related technology, and is its second sales platform.

In 2020, the department launched the Blue UAS List to catalog approved drones and drone components, giving military units an easier way to acquire systems without going through the lengthy procurement process typically associated with new equipment.

Then, alongside the Drone Dominance program, an effort to invest $1.1 billion to boost the commercial drone industry in the United States, the Defense Department revamped the Blue UAS List to encourage greater procurement of drones.

The counter-UAS marketplace takes a similar approach but focuses on the technology needed to defeat drones rather than operate them.

Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, the director of JIATF 401, called the marketplace necessary because “drones are a defining threat of our time.”

“The proliferation of small systems and small drones and the threat that they pose both to critical infrastructure and to defense critical assets requires us to move faster in this space,” he said.

Daniel Terrill is a contributor to Military Times. He’s been reporting on military issues, the gun industry, and the outdoors for nearly two decades. Although writing is his passion, he’s been a Marine, police officer, and, perhaps the most dangerous job of his career, a substitute teacher.