Neros and Perennial Autonomy Seize Top Spots in Pentagon Drone Showdown
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Two California startups captured the leading positions in the latest phase of Drone Dominance, the Pentagon competition searching for companies capable of producing high quality, low cost commercial drones at scale. Neros Technologies and Perennial Autonomy topped separate testing categories.
According to the competition leaderboard, Neros earned the highest score in confined environment testing. Perennial claimed first place in deep strike testing, where operators launched attacks from beyond the range of enemy defenses.
Those rankings directly shape Pentagon purchasing decisions, with stronger performers receiving larger orders. The War Department ordered 14,000 drones from Neros and another 8,000 from Perennial following the latest round of competition.
Neros also placed third in the deep strike category, demonstrating its platform across two different mission sets. The company was founded in 2023 by competitive drone racers and identified its winning entry as the Archer AI drone.
The company described Archer as a 10 inch model “built with Terminal Guidance functionality that allows the drone to fly itself to an operator-selected target, a critical feature in the comms-denied environments military operators face today.”
Soren Monroe-Anderson, the company’s chief executive and cofounder, called Archer “highly modular and easily adapted to end-user needs.” His statement emphasized the company’s combination of engineering work and feedback from military personnel using the system.
Image Credit: DoW
Three unmanned aerial systems (UAS) soar in the sky, Aug. 21, 2019 at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Members assigned to the Emerging Technology Combined Test Force (ETCTF), an organization with the Air Force Test Center, focus on testing and developing UAS technology. The ETCTF gathers and analyzes UAS data to enhance security and effectiveness for service members. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rachel Simones)
“Pairing real warfighter feedback with our deep engineering talent is the reason Neros is the only manufacturer to have placed in the top three across two fundamentally different mission sets — deep strike and close-quarters battle — with the same drone platform,” Monroe-Anderson said.
The War Department launched Drone Dominance in December 2025 as an effort to expand the military’s inventory of commercial drones. Its plans included investing $1 billion directly into the domestic drone market.
Since the competition began, the Pentagon has completed one and a half phases, known as Gauntlets, as well as three operational tests. Neros finished second, third and first across those competitions, securing roughly $100 million in orders.
Perennial’s leading deep strike design was “tested across rigorous find-fix-finish objectives at various long-range beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) distances,” according to the company. Operators also flew the design during both daytime and nighttime missions.
Image Credit: DoW
Spc. Anton Lane, a combat medic with specialized drone training, assigned to 5-7 Cavalry 3rd Infantry Division, puts away a Skydio X10E4TT drone as part of a Transformation in Contact exercise. (Sgt. Samantha Hill/Army)
“The systems proved their operational reliability under heavily contested conditions, to deliver precise, autonomous engagement when it counted,” Perennial said in a press release. The performance placed the company atop the deep strike testing category and helped produce an order for 8,000 drones.
Earlier this year, the War Department awarded Perennial a $500 million contract through Joint Interagency Task Force 401, also known as JIATF-401. The organization is responsible for researching, testing and procuring counter-drone technology for the department.
Perennial was founded in 2023 by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. The company developed the Merops interceptor for Ukrainian forces to counter the one way attack drones used by Russia.
Drone Dominance is scheduled to move into Gauntlet 2.5 beginning in October, when officials will evaluate bomber platforms. That testing will mark the next stage as the Pentagon continues sorting companies by operational performance.
Image Credit: DoW
The third phase is expected to begin next spring. Under the current schedule, the broader competition will conclude next fall after the additional bomber platform and third phase evaluations are completed.
For Neros and Perennial, the latest leaderboard delivered substantial orders while establishing each company as the strongest performer in a specific mission category. Future Gauntlets will determine how the rankings shift as Drone Dominance moves toward its scheduled conclusion.
