Defense Innovation Unit launches solicitation for Replicator 2.0, new prize challenge for cUAS

US Marine Corps Cpl. Brian Vile, an intelligence specialist with Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 24.3, operates a Skydio drone as part of a counter-unmanned aircraft systems field test at Mount Bundey Training Area, NT, Australia, July 11, 2024. (US Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Migel A. Reynosa)

By Carley Welch • May 06, 2025

The Defense Innovation Unit and US Northern Command introduced two new opportunities today for industry to bring forward capabilities for counter-unmanned aerial systems (cUAS).

DIU, in partnership with both NORTHCOM and the Joint Counter-small UAS Office (JCO), announced a solicitation for low collateral defense (LCD) capabilities that will “scale across the joint force” and integrate into current small cUAS programs of record, DIU wrote in a press release. The agency added that the LCDs will contribute to the second iteration of the DoD’s sprawling Replicator effort.

The first Replicator initiative, announced in August 2023, was the Pentagon’s plan to push out multiple thousands of “attritable autonomous systems” within two years to counter the threat of China’s growing military. The second initiative, dubbed Replicator 2, is focused on cUAS, the department announced in September.