Xtremis Awarded $13.9 Million Army Deal for AI Drone Detection
The Washington startup will develop AI and machine learning to detect unmanned aircraft, in a firm-fixed-price contract that could reach $46.8 million through October 2029.
Xtremis Inc., a Washington-based artificial intelligence startup spun out of Vanderbilt University in 2021, was awarded an Army contract worth up to $46.8 million to build AI systems that detect unmanned aircraft, as announced on war.gov.
The firm-fixed-price award carries an initial value of $13.9 million and a total cumulative face value of $46.8 million. Fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation funds of $2.7 million were obligated at signing. The Army solicited one bid and received one. Work will run in West Fork, Arkansas, with an estimated completion date of October 30, 2029.
“The Army’s ability to fight and win the next major conflict depends on out-maneuvering enemies in the electromagnetic spectrum,” said Congressman Steve Womack, who represents Arkansas’ 3rd District, in remarks on a prior Xtremis award according to prnewswire.com.
The deal signals how the Pentagon is racing to counter cheap drones that have reshaped modern battlefields, drawing on commercial AI firms rather than legacy defense giants to close the gap.
Xtremis specializes in electromagnetic spectrum management, a field that governs how radios and wireless devices share crowded airwaves in contested environments according to xtremis.ai. The company’s team traces its roots to two DARPA Spectrum Collaboration Challenge campaigns, placing second in the 2019 championship event according to xtremis.ai. Its founders came together through research at Vanderbilt University according to vanderbilt.edu.
The contract benefits a small firm and the Northwest Arkansas research base where it operates, while sharpening the Army’s counter-drone toolkit. Soldiers stand to gain earlier warning of hostile unmanned systems, a capability the war in Ukraine exposed as decisive. The single-bid structure limits competitive pressure on price, a point that draws scrutiny in defense procurement.
Xtremis has drawn Army money before. The company announced two contracts with a combined value of more than $80 million in November 2024 to supply electromagnetic spectrum operations capabilities according to prnewswire.com. Those awards funded an AI testbed with the Army Research Laboratory and new algorithms for real-time spectrum navigation with the DEVCOM C5ISR Center according to prnewswire.com.
This award marks the first contract recorded for Xtremis Inc.in the database for 2026, bringing the company’s year-to-date total to $13.9 million. It ranks as the 17th Department of Defense contract awarded in Washington during 2026. The figure sits between the 2026 Army portfolio’s year-to-date minimum of $9.1 million and its maximum, which tops $53 billion.
Drone detection touches civilian life beyond the battlefield. Airports, stadiums and power plants face the same threat from small unmanned aircraft, and spectrum-sensing methods developed for soldiers often migrate to commercial security. Xtremis has said its work serves both military and civilian needs according to prnewswire.com.
Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, serves as the contracting activity for the award under number W911QX-26-C-A019. The next milestone falls at the estimated completion date of October 30, 2029, though the Army has not announced a date for any follow-on decision.
Spectrum warfare has long shaped Arkansas’ defense footprint, as happened before. Xtremis rebuilt the site of the former Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor near Fayetteville into the Devil’s Den Proving Ground, a spectrum technology campus financed by Priority Bank in Prairie Grove according to prnewswire.com. The reactor first operated in the 1960s as a research facility before decades of dormancy. Its remediation turned legacy nuclear infrastructure into a launchpad for the wireless research now feeding Army contracts.
This contract represents the 1st contract awarded to Xtremis Inc., Washington, D.C., in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $13,905,295. It is also the 17th Department of Defense contract awarded in Washington during 2026. Because this is the first award to Xtremis Inc., Washington, D.C. recorded in the database, it establishes the company’s initial benchmark within the Army portfolio. Specifically, it falls between the 2026 Army portfolio’s year-to-date minimum of $9,051,490 and maximum of $53,859,843,289. Overall, this award was announced among 17 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on July 15, 2026.
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