Lloyd J. Austin III Secretary of Defence | Official website
Deputy Secretary Hicks announced today some of the capabilities and one of the systems selected for accelerated fielding as part of the first tranche of the Replicator initiative, which is focused on fielding all-domain attritable autonomous (ADA2) systems. "I am pleased to announce that the Department will begin investing in scalable production for these critical capabilities," said Hicks. "We are taking an important step toward strengthening our defense and technology industrial base."
The first tranche of Replicator capabilities include uncrewed surface vehicles (USV), uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and counter-uncrewed aerial systems (c-UAS) of various sizes and payloads from several traditional and non-traditional vendors. In the air domain, the Department will accelerate fielding of the Switchblade-600 loitering munition, produced by AeroVironment Inc. "This is a critical step in delivering the capabilities we need, at the scale and speed we need, to continue securing a free and open Indo-Pacific," said Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
In the maritime domain, the Department is diversifying the vendor base for USVs through the PRIME Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO). The CSO process allows U.S. and international companies to pitch technologies to the Department in a fast-track process for a prototype contract. "Meeting the strategic imperatives facing the nation requires that we harness the very best of America's commercial technology in non-traditional partners, alongside our traditional sources of defense capabilities," said Doug Beck, Director of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).
"Since Deputy Secretary Hicks' announcement of the Replicator initiative and its initial focus on ADA2 systems just over seven months ago, the Department-wide effort has systematically aligned senior leaders around a common vision to identify and validate key joint operational gaps and rapidly field solutions in 18-24 months," said Admiral Christopher Grady, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "Replicator is helping us jumpstart the delivery of critical capabilities at scale. We will build on that momentum with industry partners to deliver what the warfighter needs, and remove barriers to doing so again and again."
