Neros and Perennial Autonomy lead Pentagon's Drone Dominance competition
Tags Hardware · Startups
Neros Technologies scored highest in confined-environment testing and Perennial Autonomy took the top spot in deep-strike testing in the latest phase of the Pentagon's Drone Dominance competition, which aims to source low-cost commercial drones at scale. The department ordered 14,000 drones from Neros and 8,000 from Perennial, with rankings determining order volumes. Neros, founded by competitive drone racers in 2023, won with its 10-inch Archer AI drone featuring terminal guidance for comms-denied environments, and has earned roughly $100 million in orders across the competition. Perennial, founded in 2023 by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, previously received a $500 million JIATF-401 contract and developed the Merops interceptor for Ukrainian forces.
Technical significance
Ranking-based ordering turns the competition into a continuous performance test, giving higher-scoring startups larger production runs and a path to scale. Terminal-guidance autonomy for comms-denied environments reflects the shift toward drones that can complete engagements without a live operator link.