Replicator Updates from AUVSI: Dec 1, 2023

Welcome back to AUVSI’s biweekly newsletter to keep the uncrewed and autonomous systems industries updated on DOD’s Replicator initiative.

DoD Replicator Announcements

Implementing the Department of Defense Replicator Initiative to Accelerate All-Domain Attritable Autonomous Systems To Warfighters at Speed and Scale

• DIU plans to post solicitations related to Replicator on the DIU website, starting in December. DIU anticipates the first solicitation will request new capabilities related to uncrewed aerial systems not currently on contract.

Hicks: DOD Is Becoming More Agile

• Hicks said programs like the "replicator" initiative are the future for the department… Replicator is an example of what the department must do on a large scale to stay ahead of potential threats like those emanating from China and Russia. These new capabilities require new doctrines and new uses and new cultures — really — to operate. And the U.S. military is positioned to capitalize on this and move forward.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks Travels to United Kingdom

• Hicks briefed UK counterparts on the Department’s “Replicator Initiative.”

Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks on 'The State of AI in the Department of Defense'

• “The state of AI in DoD is not a short story, nor is it static — we must keep doing more, safely and swiftly, given the nature of strategic competition with the PRC, our pacing challenge.”

Replicator News We’re Reading

Pentagon plans a drone army to counter China’s market dominance —Washington Post by Eva Dou and Gerrit De Vynck

• China overwhelmingly dominates the global consumer drone market, with DJI occupying some 70% market share with its budget-friendly flying robots. U.S. officials say it’s prudent to develop alternate sources, with the U.S.-China relationship expected to remain in tense competition for years to come.
• “Drones used to be toys. Now everyone’s realizing how important they are,” said Jeff Thompson , founder of Red Cat Holdings .
• “We have not only invested in the maturation of such disruptive technologies, but also in the production capability and capacity to make them in large volumes at the levels of reliability that the U.S. DoD expects,” said AeroVironment CEO Wahid Nawabi .
• William Mark Valentine , president of global government for Skydio , said what U.S. drone makers need more than anything is consistent demand, so they can plan their investments and parts orders.

DIU eyeing Feb-Aug 2025 to field first Replicator systems, wants industry input — Breaking Defense by Jaspreet Gill

• DIU is planning a technology summit early next year to increase industry engagement in the department’s Replicator initiative. Ahead of that summit, the Pentagon’s tech office is working to understand what gaps exist that Replicator can fill, said Director Doug Beck .
• The first tranche will come from both large and small companies that DIU works with frequently and include systems that are ready to be scaled and have been tested and validated in appropriate environments.

Replicator candidates to be chosen by early December, Pentagon says —Defense News

• Replicator will proceed in tranches, with groups of systems bought at different intervals. The first tranche could include all domains and range in unit cost from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on payload.

DoD’s Replicator program must be repeatable to be successful — Federal News Network by Kirsten Errick

• The department needs to use Replicator as a model for other initiatives to bridge and scale technology; whether that means buying newer drones in the future or using this model to speed production, innovation and usage of another technology.

Pentagon pushes A.I. research toward lethal autonomous weapons AP

• Replicator highlights immense technological and personnel challenges for Pentagon procurement and development as the AI revolution promises to transform how wars are fought.

The U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Future Remains Murky as China Threat Looms —USNI News by Sam LaGrone

• Replicator’s first project will likely focus on disrupting a Taiwan invasion as a top operational requirement in the Western Pacific, USNI News understands.
• The Navy stood up a DIU equivalent last month, the Disruptive Capabilities Office, with a similar mandate to solve Navy operational problems. Bryan Clark

Countering China’s Fleet of Autonomous Maritime Vehicles — Real Clear Defense by Joe "Digger" DiGuardo, Rear Admiral (Ret)

• Without question, there are voices at the Pentagon and within the halls of Congress pushing to elevate the role of unmanned maritime vehicles in U.S. national security and the Navy’s maritime dominance. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks recently announced the Replicator initiative, and the Senate Armed Services Committee directed the Secretary of Defense to devise “a strategy for addressing such incursions, and whether the [DoD] needs to acquire different or enhanced capabilities to neutralize future threats.”

AUVSI's Defense Advocacy Committee advances policies and funding for uncrewed and autonomous systems in the Department of Defense, ensuring the U.S. remains at the forefront of autonomous defense technologies. Learn more or contact Michael Smitsky, Esq.