The US has awarded California-based Kraus Hamdani Aerospace a $20-million contract to produce and deliver unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
Under the contract, awarded under the Pentagon’s Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program, Kraus will provide its K1000ULE UAS for the US Army Pacific 1st Multi-Domain Task Force and Joint Special Operations Command.
The drone provides aerial tier network extension, electronic warfare, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities for deep sensing and communication extension over large distances.
“The APFIT award validates our learning from conflict areas across the globe and our alignment to delivering mature technology that gives our warfighter an asymmetric advantage over our adversaries in modern warfare,” CEO and co-founder Fatema Hamdani said.
The $20-million deal is among the largest since APFIT’s inception in 2022, and the company’s CTO and co-founder Stefan Kraus noted that it will enable the firm to rapidly scale manufacturing.
“This award furthers our development in high endurance technologies while delivering critical capability to the US Army,” he added.
Deep Reconnaissance and Sensing
The next-generation K1000ULE was designed to be the longest-endurance, fully electric, zero-emissions autonomous aircraft in the Group 2 UAS category (weighing 21 to 55 pounds/10 to 25 kilograms).
It provides aerial-based full-motion video, ISR, electronic warfare, electronic intelligence, and geospatial intelligence.
Additionally, it uses voice-and-data communication services enabled by an AI-based autonomous vehicle coordination system called UpSwarm.
The US Army Pacific Command identified the K1000ULE’s deep reconnaissance and sensing capabilities in 2022, which led to its inclusion in exercises and operations across the Pacific and culminated in the command sponsoring the UAS for APFIT.
Meanwhile, the APFIT program aims to expedite the transition of innovative technologies into production and operational use, particularly those developed by small businesses and nontraditional defense contractors.