Ukrainian defense-tech company General Chereshnya has advanced to the second stage of the American Drone Dominance Program (DDP), which is implemented by the US Department of War to search for manufacturers of inexpensive and effective strike drones for the needs of the US Army.
Ukrainian defense-tech company General Chereshnya has advanced to the second stage of the American Drone Dominance Program (DDP), which is implemented by the US Department of War to search for manufacturers of inexpensive and effective strike drones for the needs of the US Army.
According to the company, the first stage of testing took place on February 18, 2026 at the Fort Benning military base. 25 companies from different countries of the world were allowed to participate, including the General Chereshnya company.
During the first round, each manufacturer was given two hours to demonstrate their solution to the US military. After that, American operators independently tested the drones in flight and evaluated their capabilities.
The main evaluation criteria were target detection, fixation, and destruction. In addition, the deployment time of the complex, target detection speed, destruction accuracy, and other technical parameters were taken into account. As well as the companies' ability to deploy production in the United States.
On May 21, 2026, DDP announced the participants who have advanced to the second phase of the program. This phase will involve a much more rigorous testing program. Forty-eight companies have been selected for the second phase to demonstrate their products at Camp Grayling, Michigan. The second phase will test approximately 78 unique drones in one or both of the critical categories: Long Range Strike and Tactical Drones for confined space operations.
The next stages of the program will include even more complex requirements for the systems. The organizers will pay special attention to the systems' resistance to electronic warfare (EW) systems, loss of navigation, and operation in difficult environmental conditions - at altitude, at low and high temperatures, as well as when engaging more complex and moving targets.
The final fourth stage involves the selection of approximately five manufacturers who will receive orders for the Pentagon.
According to the program's website, the total budget of the Drone Dominance Program is $1.1 billion. The program is being implemented in four phases and aims to create scalable, low-cost, and risk-resilient supply chains of small strike UAVs for the needs of US ground forces.
The Pentagon emphasizes that drone warfare is changing the nature of modern combat, and therefore the US Army needs affordable unmanned systems that can be quickly scaled and integrated into future defense programs.
