In the announcement, Brian Hoffman, chief engineer of NSWC Crane’s Man-Portable Weapons, explained that the ammo works much like a shotshell in that it disperses a cluster of projectiles, but it’s designed to be fired from a service rifle or machine gun instead of a shotgun.

“The intent with our ammunition was to simply give operators a better chance of killing drones with cost-effective products that can be used in existing weapons,” Hoffman said in the release. “If you aren’t the world’s best shot or don’t have a lot of experience engaging aerial targets, your odds go up immediately with DKC.”

The cartridge’s design, coupled with the range and velocity of typical centerfire rifle ammo, increases the probability of “hit and kill” against drones, Hoffman said.

In a recent demonstration at Indiana’s Camp Atterbury, DKC achieved a 92% success rate.

Hoffman explained that the DKC product line is “already mature” and applicable for not just killing drones but also “home defense, personal protection and hunting.”

And if it sounds like he’s pitching the product line, that’s because he is. The other part of NSWC Crane’s announcement is that it’s looking for partners to manufacture DKC ammo.

The tech link

Hoffman explained that the Navy typically relies on the Army for small-caliber ammunition under the Single Manager for Conventional Ammunition directive. However, it procures ammo through government contracts with industry partners if not supported by the SMCA.

For that reason, NSWC Crane’s announcement was also featured on TechLink, a Defense Department-funded organization run by Montana State University that helps businesses license technology from federal laboratories.

Using the website, manufacturers can license and commercialize products, like DKC ammo, which have been fully developed and patented by the federal government. The intent behind the project is to help veterans, the military and small businesses.

As small drones are now seen as a common weapon on the battlefield, military and other agency leaders project needing millions of DKC rounds, Hoffman said.

“Ongoing conflicts abroad and operational requirements along the U.S. southern border highlight the immediate utility of DKC and its enhanced yet cost-effective capabilities,” he said in the release.

Exactly who is going to manufacture the ammo has not yet been announced. However, Hoffman added that NSWC Crane recently hosted a DKC-licensing event attended by several U.S. ammo makers, and they received even more interest because of the announcement.

Still, Hoffman said DKC ammo production will evolve in the not-too-distant future.

“Given projected requirements, meeting total DKC quantities will likely involve a combination of (Government‑Owned, Contractor‑Operated) production and licensed industry partners operating in parallel,” he said.

Dubbed “the Gauntlet,” military operators will fly and evaluate uncrewed aerial systems, or UASs, at Fort Benning, Georgia, to determine which of the 25 competing vendors will advance to the next phase of the program.

However, ahead of the testing, DOD curated a list of commercial drones that meet baseline performance and compliance standards. With the list, officials aim to streamline procurement and encourage military leaders to begin buying and fielding approved systems sooner rather than later.

In December, the Defense Contract Management Agency launched the Blue List UAS website, which catalogs 54 drone models cleared, at a minimum, for training use.

Of those, 29 also received the “select” label, indicating they passed a competitive review process and are authorized for operational deployment.

With so many drone models available and the pace of change accelerating, a central question of what DOD is looking for in a commercial drone remains.

Although many observers point to use of expendable drones in the Russia-Ukraine war as motivation behind the program, DOD first established the Blue UAS program in 2020 to mitigate cybersecurity risks and reduce reliance on foreign-made components.

The Blue UAS program emerged from the National Defense Authorization Act, which prohibits the federal government from using drones and drone components from countries considered a security risk.

Experts say the Blue UAS program takes NDAA compliant drones a step further.

For a drone to be added to the Blue UAS list, it must pass rigorous testing and cyber security evaluations. In other words, a Blue UAS is an NDAA-compliant drone that’s been officially tested in the field for performance and approved by the Pentagon.

And the Blue UAS designator continues to matter. According to a report by the Institute for Defense & Government Advancement, Chinese companies dominate the global drone supply chain with an estimated 90% control of the commercial drone market. In turn, it’s difficult to manufacture drones without using Chinese-made parts.

“While these Chinese-made motors are referred to as “dumb components” experts say the issue is less about espionage risk and more about availability and resilience,” the IDGA report said. “In a conflict or trade disruption, U.S. drone production could stall almost immediately due to reliance on Chinese supply chains.”

Using the Blue UAS designator, the Pentagon, along with the federal government as a whole, aim to not just equip troops with new technology but to also boost domestic drone production.

For its part, the Pentagon’s plan is to invest over $1 billion in the U.S. drone market over the next two years through the Drone Dominance Program.

Following the “Gauntlet” testing, which is scheduled to end in March, it will resume testing every six months until 2028.

By the end of the program, the department aims to have acquired some 300,000 drones and named five primary vendors.