Air Force Awards $82M C-sUAS Contract to Leidos

Leidos has secured a potential $82 million single-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to support the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s efforts to detect, identify, track and defeat small unmanned aircraft systems.

The company will perform system and software maintenance, development and deployment tasks to enhance the AFLCMC base’s security against sUAS.

Work will be carried out in various continental U.S. locations for five years if all options are exercised, Leidos said Monday.

According to Will Johnson, Leidos’ senior vice president for logistics and mission support, the contract award comes as the U.S. military faces a growing aerial threat.

“The complex and rapid proliferation of small, unmanned aircraft systems by adversaries presents new risks and challenges for our armed forces,” Johnson said in a statement.

Leidos has a separate counter-drone engagement with the U.S. Army. Dynetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos, was awarded a $237 million contract in September to manufacture an enduring indirect fires protection capability weapon system for the service branch to counter cruise missile and unmanned aircraft system threats. Work includes the production of launchers and interceptors.

IFPC is a weapon concept that the Army has been pursuing for several years. It is billed to bridge the gap between short-range air defense systems, the Patriot air and missile defense system and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.