DHS begins $1.5B spending spree on drone defense

Overview

DHS (Department of Homeland Security) has awarded a $1.5 billion IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity) for counter-drone/counter-UAS capabilities to 14 vendors across two tracks, creating a large, multi-year stream of task-order opportunities through 2031. Track 1 (up to $1B ceiling) targets hardware, software, and services; Track 2 (up to $500M ceiling) targets comprehensive managed services and system integration. Named awardees include firms such as Anduril, Booz Allen, GDIT, Leidos, BAE Systems, and CACI, which signals strong prime market activity and potential teaming/subcontracting openings. This award fills critical DHS capability gaps and elevates demand across the counter-UAS/critical infrastructure protection market segments. Contractors should act now to map their offerings to each track, validate compliance posture for the listed compliance surfaces, and begin capture activities to position for anticipated task orders and follow-on solicitations. Use this moment to update past performance, prepare demo packages, and start outreach to potential primes and partners.

Immediate Actions (This Week)

• [ ] Monitor for the official solicitation, task-order releases, and amendments related to the DHS Counter-UAS IDIQ; subscribe to updates and set alerts.
• [ ] Conduct a rapid capability mapping: identify which of your products/services fit Track 1 (hardware/software/services) versus Track 2 (managed services/system integration) and note gaps.
• [ ] Begin outreach to awarded primes (including the named vendors in the award list) to introduce your capabilities and explore teaming or subcontracting opportunities.

Short-Term Actions (30 Days)

• [ ] Prepare or update a Targeted Capability Statement and one-page past-performance summaries focused on counter-UAS projects, border security, critical infrastructure protection, and systems integration.
• [ ] Perform a compliance readiness check for the compliance surfaces listed in this event (see Compliance Checklist) and start any short remediation actions that unlock near-term task-order eligibility (e.g., evidence collection, lightweight SSP/POA&M drafts).

Long-Term Actions (90+ Days)

• [ ] Formalize teaming agreements or subcontract templates with prospective primes and partners; develop at least one joint capture plan for a representative Track 1 and Track 2 task order scenario.
• [ ] Build or rehearse a technical demonstration and deployment playbook (logistics, staffing, integration points) optimized for rapid task-order response to the DHS Counter-UAS IDIQ.

Compliance Checklist

• [ ] NIST 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171) — Prepare or update System Security Plan (SSP), POA&M entries for gaps, and evidence packages for controls that affect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information)) handling.
• [ ] CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) — Assess current CMMC readiness posture; document processes and evidence that map to required practices for potential prime or subcontract opportunities.
• [ ] FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) — If offering cloud-hosted components or managed cloud services, evaluate FedRAMP applicability and start mapping cloud control responsibilities.
• [ ] ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) — Review export-control status for UAS-related hardware, technical data, and services; ensure registration and licensing posture supports proposed teaming and export/shipment plans.
• [ ] EAR — Review dual-use hardware/software for EAR coverage and prepare commodity classification and licensing plans as needed.

Resources

• DHS: https://www.dhs.gov
• NIST SP 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171) (Control baseline): https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-171/rev-2/final
• CMMC Program: https://www.cmmc.gov/
• FedRAMP: https://www.fedramp.gov/
• ITAR (DDTC): https://www.pmddtc.state.gov/
• EAR (BIS): https://www.bis.doc.gov/

Also see these Cabrillo guides:

• Winning Federal Contracts Guide (/insights/winning-federal-contracts)
• CMMC Compliance Guide (/insights/cmmc-compliance-guide)
• CUI-Safe CRM Guide (/insights/cui-safe-crm-guide)

How Cabrillo Club Automates This

• Cabrillo Signals War Room — Already detected this DHS $1.5B Counter-UAS IDIQ award and delivered this briefing within minutes. War Room continuously monitors DHS announcements, contract-vehicle award notices, and policy updates so your capture team sees real-time alerts when awards, task orders, or amendments appear that affect counter-UAS opportunities. For this event, War Room has flagged the award, listed named vendors, and is tracking follow-on activity across DHS components.
• Cabrillo Signals Match Engine — Automatically rescales your opportunity pipeline when events like this shift the competitive landscape. The Match Engine will re-score open opportunities and your backlog against the DHS Counter-UAS IDIQ profile, elevating leads that map to Track 1 or Track 2 capabilities and deprioritizing low-fit items. Keywords, NAICS alignment, and agency fit update in real time so your capture team focuses on the highest-probability pursuits.
• Cabrillo Signals Intelligence Hub — Tracks affected agencies, contract vehicles, and NAICS codes; use saved searches tuned to the DHS Counter-UAS IDIQ profile to receive alerts when follow-on solicitations or task orders hit SAM.gov (System for Award Management). The Intelligence Hub keeps a running list of the 14 awardees and allows you to tag firms for targeted outreach lists and competitor analysis.
• Proposal Studio (Proposal OS) — Generates first-draft technical approaches, compliance matrices, and win-theme libraries tailored to Track 1 hardware/software/service proposals or Track 2 managed-services/system-integration responses. Proposal Studio ingests your past-performance records to auto-populate relevant examples, creates compliance evidence checklists for the frameworks named in this event, and supports rapid first-draft turnaround to meet task-order deadlines.
• Proposal Studio Workflow Tracker — Executes a 9-gate capture workflow for each target task order: opportunity qualification, bid/no-bid decision, teaming approvals, compliance review routing, proposal production, and audit-ready submission packaging. Workflow Tracker routes compliance tasks (SSP drafts, export-control checks) to legal/contracts, tracks supplier certifications, and archives documentation for post-award audits.

Explore these features in your Cabrillo dashboard to convert this DHS Counter-UAS IDIQ award into active capture wins.