Swarm Defense Technologies in Auburn Hills has received a prototype delivery order for 4,000 Kiwi one-way attack drones under the Department of War’s Drone Dominance Program. The order has a minimum value of $25 million, including munitions.
The award follows Gauntlet II at Fort Carson, Colo., where military operators evaluated competing aircraft in unscripted mission scenarios. Swarm Defense will manufacture the aircraft at their 40,000-square-foot facility in Auburn Hills.
“Receiving an order for 4,000 Kiwi aircraft is a major milestone for Swarm Defense,” says Kyle Dorosz, CEO of Swarm Defense Technologies. “The Drone Dominance Program has placed its confidence in both our aircraft and our ability to deliver them at scale.
“Our engineers and production team earned this opportunity through constant testing and improvement, and I’m proud of what they’ve accomplished. We appreciate the program’s trust. Our focus now is on delivering for the service members who will rely on these systems.”
Swarm Defense grew out of Firefly Drone Shows, the largest American light-show drone manufacturer. Since 2017, Firefly has led the development of swarming technology and built more than 20,000 swarming drones. The companies share engineering and manufacturing resources in Auburn Hills.
Swarm Defense integrates aircraft design, electronics engineering, proprietary software, and U.S. manufacturing. Its in-house development spans flight controllers, electronic speed controllers, power and battery-management electronics, embedded firmware, ground control software, and swarm coordination technology.
Strike Deck, the company’s ground control software, enables one operator to manage dozens of swarming aircraft. The system automates waypoint navigation and relay-aircraft flight control, with real-time path deconfliction across the swarm. Terminal guidance supports the final approach to operator-designated targets, while target selection and engagement authorization remains with the operators.
“Combat units need to bring volume to the fight,” says Adam Wright, president of Swarm Defense Technologies and a former Navy SEAL. “Swarming allows a single pilot to accomplish what it normally takes several pilots to do.
“The Kiwi breaks the math of drone warfare. It’s so simple that anyone can learn to fly five of them simultaneously after only a few hours of training. We’re reducing manpower, cognitive load, and training requirements, all at the same time.”
The order covers Kiwi’s one-way attack configuration. Kiwi also can be configured for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, as an airborne communications relay, and as a reusable precision-dropper.
Separately, Swarm Defense holds a Phase I prototype agreement with the Defense Innovation Unit under its Containerized Autonomous Drone Delivery System project. The project concept is a container of drones, forward deployed, and dormant until a single operator at a remote station launches ISR and strike capability on demand.
