Military Drone Crucible ‘25
USDNA will host the first Military Drone Crucible event at [to be announced DoD Installation] in Central Florida.
The focus of this Drone Crucible will be a head-to-head match between the U.S. Marine Corps Attack Drone Team and the U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment, representing the two services in most urgent need of rapidly integrating squad-level sUAS and cUAS capabilities.
Additional invitation-only participation will be incorporated from members across the armed services and allied nations, representing operational units and installation commands, requirements officers, senior military leaders, members of Congress, and USG.
objective.
PRIMARY - Modernize Squad-level Capabilities.
USDNA will host the first Military Drone Crucible event at [to be announced DoD Installation] in Central Florida. The focus of this Drone Crucible will be a head to head match between the U.S. Marine Corps Attack Drone Team and the U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment, representing the two services in most urgent need of rapidly integrating squad-level sUAS and cUAS capabilities. Additional invitation-only participation will be incorporated from members across the armed services and allied nations, representing operational units and installation commands, requirements officers, senior military leaders, members of Congress, and USG.
SECONDARY - Enhance Squad-level Capabilities
Employment and evaluation of short-term future systems that can enhance capabilities beyond present-day peer competition, including evaluation of prototypes and advanced applications.
Arms Room Briefs
Demonstration Sponsors will be provided time for booth setup inside the Arms Room and Team Staging Area.
Sponsors will receive the same Mission Brief as the competing teams, and will participate in an Emerging Requirements & Capabilities information exchange brief directly with DoD end users.
The Air Branch Chief, U.S. Army Robotics Requirements Division (primary sponsor of the Joint sUAS Purpose Built Attritable System Annex) will provide sponsors with a detailed brief on predicted capabilities requirements, with amplifying comments provided by requirements officers from the Navy, Air Force, and U.S. Marine Corps.
Members of Congress are invited to discuss appropriation efforts for emerging sUAS and cUAS capabilities.
Opening ceremony remarks will be provided by VIP attendees.
Drone Crucible Head to Head Match
Round I: For Speed
Round II: Contested with cUAS
Round III: Night Operations
The primary teams will take the field and execute their preplanned mission sets engaging a variety of targets:
➢ Close Quarter Drone "CQD" Breaching/Room Clearing Challenge
➢ ISR to FPV CAS = Respond to request for support, require ID of adversary location, followed by precision strike to 10 digit grid
➢ Multiple “enemy in the open” = require high volume engagement
➢ Static targets = require loitering munition drops
➢ Moving mechanized targets = require operator to strike specific vulnerability point
➢ Covered/concealed targets = require operator to maneuver inside trench, through window, etc.
➢ Moving Aerial Target = require operator to engage RW or Group 3
➢ Long Range strike against critical asset = require fiber optic long range employment
Drone Crucible Secondary Team Match
Secondary Drone Teams, comprised of all other operational unit representatives in attendance, will take the field with their selected sUAS loadouts. Teams will be advised and assisted by vendors and members of the 75th Ranger Regiment & Marine Corps teams, conducting multiple runs with different technology stacks against the same target set and mission profile.
Upon completion, a comprehensive post-mission brief will be conducted with all teams, providing technology sponsors with critical user feedback and performance evaluation.
Drone Crucible Awards & Outbriefs
DoD end users, Academia Innovation Ecosystem managers, and Industry Technology Sponsors will be participate in a transparent round table discussion evaluating the current gaps between warfighter needs and technology solutions, and provide input on process improvement aided through future regional USNDA Drone Crucible events.
This working group will help establish reasonable qualitative and quantitative feedback criteria used for ongoing technology performance evaluation, and provide recommendations for the development of a continuous repository of DoD problem sets and prototyped solutions provided by industry and academic partners.
Closing remarks and USNDA Performance Awards will be provided by USNDA, Government, and DoD Senior Leadership.