FORT BRAGG, N.C., Picogrid today announced a contract to support the XVIII Airborne Corps as it advances the Army’s modernization efforts, enabling more flexible, integrated use of battlefield systems. Through this work, Picogrid will allow units to rapidly integrate new battlefield systems faster in the field, with a focus on counter-unmanned aerial systems.
The contract is centered on a broader operational challenge facing the Army: as more sensors, autonomous systems, and software from various vendors enter the field, the Army needs a practical way to make these siloed systems work together without long integration timelines or custom engineering for every new capability.
Under the contract, Picogrid will deploy Legion and Expeditionary Command and Control Nodes to directly address this challenge. Together, these solutions will integrate disparate sensors, response systems, and mission software into a shared operational picture, even in environments where connectivity is limited. This work will support rapid onboarding of new technologies, data sharing across different networks, coordination across multiple systems, and continued experimentation with forward-deployed units.
The effort supports work through the Army’s Joint Innovation Outpost, or JIOP, which focuses on moving new capabilities into operational use quickly. For XVIII Airborne Corps, that need is especially acute. As the Army’s global response force, the unit is ready to deploy anywhere in the world on short notice and operates in conditions where systems need to work together immediately.
The award builds on Picogrid’s work supporting prior Army exercises, including Scarlet Dragon at Fort Bragg, where Picogrid orchestrated multiple sensor systems with supported detection, tracking, and sensor-to-sensor cueing workflows. These efforts demonstrated how units can integrate data from multiple systems and coordinate follow-on actions.
“As the Army fields more sensors, autonomous systems, and software, the bottleneck is no longer access to technology. It’s getting those systems to work together fast enough to matter,” said Jake Jeffries, Head of Deployments, Picogrid. “This effort is about giving units a common foundation they can use to bring new capabilities online in weeks, not months, while still working with the systems they already have.”
“For a formation that deploys on short notice, speed of integration matters just as much as the capability itself,” said CW3 Jennings of the XVIII Airborne Corps. “What we need is a system our soldiers can learn quickly, use in the field, and rely on to pull together sensors, decision-making, and response options into one workflow.”
As the pace of fielding continues to increase, the contract reflects a wider shift in Army modernization. The priority is not just acquiring new systems, but making sure they can be integrated, understood, and employed together under real operational conditions.
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At the United States Army’s Fort Moore in Georgia, the Department of Defense recently concluded the initial phase of its ‘Drone Dominance Gauntlet I’. Conceived as a rapid-procurement initiative to accelerate the deployment of 30,000 cost-effective, expendable uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), the trials were widely expected to demonstrate the industrial capacity and technological superiority of the US defence sector.
Instead, the results revealed a stark disparity in capability, with a comparatively unheralded British enterprise emerging as the definitive leader.
Skycutter, a UK-based developer of highly efficient drone platforms, achieved an unprecedented score of 99.3 out of 100. The margin between Skycutter and the runner-up, Neros, stood at 11.8 points—a statistically significant variance in a field where the subsequent seven competitors were separated by fewer than three points.
Prior to the Gauntlet’s commencement, Skycutter was not predominantly recognised within the traditional Washington defence procurement establishment. However, the firm has cultivated a robust reputation within the commercial sector by addressing one of the most persistent limitations of rotary-wing UAS: energy endurance.
The company’s engineering division comprises aircraft design specialists, fuel cell experts, electrical and software engineers, and veteran test pilots, ensuring a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to aeronautical development. Their fleet—which includes the SC-1200 heavy-lift platform, the hydrogen-powered SC Gryphon, and the backpack-deployable SC-ISR—reflects a highly pragmatic design philosophy.
Perhaps the most consequential metric of Skycutter’s success in the Gauntlet was its operational accessibility. The military personnel tasked with evaluating the submissions received a mere two hours of training per platform before executing simulated combat scenarios.
Skycutter has publicly stated its corporate objective is “to optimise the safety and useability of the UAV to enable our customers to provide the best service possible.” In a military context, optimal usability translates directly to frictionless deployment. Achieving a 99.3 rating under such constrained training parameters underscores the advanced autonomy and user-centric design of modern UAS. It indicates a paradigm shift wherein operating a highly sophisticated, GPS-independent, long-endurance strike drone requires minimal specialised instruction.
Skycutter’s prospective allocation of the $150m US defence contract represents a significant commercial achievement for British engineering. However, it also illustrates a broader, more sobering geopolitical reality: the transition towards automated, mass-produced, and highly autonomous military systems is accelerating, fundamentally altering the calculus of modern warfare.
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