A U.S. soldier sets up a Bumblebee quadcopter for launch during an exercise at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany on Jan. 28, 2026. The Army signed a $5.2 million deal for an unspecified number of Bumblebee V2 drones, which take out unmanned enemy aircraft by crashing into them. (Adrian Greenwood/U.S. Army)
American soldiers facing the ever-present threat of drone barrage on future battlefields will soon be able to call on a real stinger of a knockout force.
The Army signed a $5.2 million deal for the Bumblebee V2, a type of small inexpensive drone that counters enemy aircraft by crashing directly into them.
Joint Interagency Task Force 401, the Pentagon’s leading counter-drone organization, awarded the contract to Perennial Autonomy in late January, the Army said in a statement Friday.
The agreement calls for an unspecified number of the multirotor, first-person-view drones, which can identify, track and neutralize threats, according to the statement.
“Having a low-collateral kinetic option is not just an advantage,” task force director Brig. Gen. Matthew Ross said in the statement. “It is increasingly becoming essential for protecting our forces.”
The system mimics similar strategies deployed by Ukraine, which has relied on cheap interceptor drones to take down Russian counterparts.
Besides protecting troops in combat, the Bumblebee will also be used to safeguard critical infrastructure at home, Army officials said.
The Bumblebee V2s will first head to Fort Bragg, N.C., for testing to ensure their readiness for the demands of the battlefield, the Army said.
The Pentagon has begun to focus heavily on countering unmanned aircraft, underscoring the danger posed by the drone fleets of adversaries like Russia and Iran.
Last year, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth established task force 401 to coordinate counter-drone efforts across the department.
The group has been scaling up American drone defense systems at home and abroad. It recently updated guidance to give U.S. base commanders a wider berth when it comes to countering enemy drones.
