The US Army has awarded PDW a contract worth $20.9 million to supply its C100 quadcopter drones along with a suite of Multi-Mission Payloads. This award marks the third contract for the C100 under the service’s Transformation in Contact (TiC) initiative, which accelerates the adoption of advanced commercial technology by moving it from concept to production through operational deployment and feedback.
The C100 is a compact, modular drone tailored for reconnaissance and versatile multi-mission use. Its payload suite consists of three specialized modules: one for operations in GPS-denied environments, another to extend communications beyond line of sight, and a third for signals intelligence and electronic warfare tasks. Together, these systems provide enhanced survivability and utility across diverse mission sets.
The new delivery will equip units within the 18th Airborne Corps and US Army Special Operations Command. Earlier TiC contracts distributed the C100 to seven Project Manager Unmanned Aircraft Systems (PM UAS) units, where the drones were evaluated in live missions. In December 2024, under a prior $15 million TiC 2.0 award, C100s were deployed across Indo-Pacific Command, European Command, and Central Command, proving their effectiveness in varied theaters.
This latest order reflects the Army’s broader effort to modernize its small UAS fleet. Recent programs have included the replacement of the Skydio RQ-28A quadcopter, the fielding of Teal drones in late 2024, and the delivery of X10D systems in May 2025 to bridge the gap between small quadcopters and larger UAVs. Collectively, these initiatives aim to strengthen the Army’s reconnaissance, autonomy, and electronic warfare capabilities in contested operational environments.
