USNI News
Navy Creating ‘Sandbox’ to Evaluate Work from Tech Companies
May 24, 2021 2:57 PM
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Alberto Ramirez, an infantryman with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division uses a communication system during Urban Advanced Naval Technology Exercise 2018 (ANTX18) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, March 19, 2018. Marines are testing next generation technologies to provide the opportunity to assess the operational utility of emerging technologies and engineering innovations that improve the Marine’s survivability, lethality and connectivity in complex urban environments. US Marine Corps photo.
The Navy – looking for flexibility when dealing with small, high-tech companies – is creating a “sandbox” to vet work from both the companies and the service, according to a Navy official.
The tests are part of a rapid effort by the U.S. government to develop an answer to small drones, which are increasingly being used by terror groups and drug cartels. The staggering demand hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of funding for research, in contrast to the relatively cheap cost of small consumer drones has already created a private economy to produce counter-drone technology for the military, involving dozens of aerospace and defense companies.
In the current fiscal year, the Defense Department is looking to spend at least $404 million on research and development and at least $83 million on procurement of counter-UAS technology, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. And other agencies, including Customs and Border Protection, are looking to capture a share of the market, raising concerns that the efforts could lead to further surveillance and militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border.