Air Force Seeks Brand-Name DroneShield Kits for Base
The 502nd Contracting Squadron posted a brand-name-only request for equipment to operate DroneShield kits at Joint Base San Antonio.
Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Military
The U.S. Air Force posted a request for quotes on November 10, 2026, seeking equipment to operate DroneShield Immediate Response Kits at Joint Base San Antonio. Offers are due November 17, 2026, and the purchase is set aside for small businesses.
Why it matters
The solicitation names a single brand, which means resellers rather than DroneShield itself are expected to bid. The request comes as the Air Force's fiscal 2026 budget for Air Base Air Defense Systems rose sharply, reflecting growing military focus on counter-drone capabilities.
The Immediate Response Kit pairs a DroneGun Mk4 jammer, weighing 3.37 kg (7.43 pounds) with battery, with an RfPatrol Mk2 detector weighing 800 grams (1.76 pounds). The full kit ships at about 12 kg (27 pounds) and the DroneGun Mk4 starts in under three seconds.
The players
DroneShield
DroneShield is an Australian counter-drone technology company whose DroneGun and RfPatrol systems are named in the Air Force solicitation.
502nd Contracting Squadron
The 502nd Contracting Squadron is the Air Force unit based at Joint Base San Antonio that issued the brand-name-only request for quotes.
Joint Interagency Task Force 401
Joint Interagency Task Force 401 is a U.S. counter-drone organization that awarded DroneShield a contract worth up to $24.9 million in June 2026.
The details
The 502nd Contracting Squadron issued the request as a simplified-procedure commercial products solicitation, and the Air Force will place a single firm-fixed-price order with the lowest price technically acceptable quote. The request follows unidentified drone overflights at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia that lasted 17 days in December 2023.
Timeline
December 2023: Unidentified drones flew over Joint Base Langley-Eustis for 17 days.
June 2026: DroneShield announced a contract worth up to $24.9 million from Joint Interagency Task Force 401.
November 10, 2026: The 502nd Contracting Squadron posted the request for quotes.
November 17, 2026: Offers for the request are due.
Roadmap
The Air Force's fiscal 2026 Air Base Air Defense Systems budget of $836 million, up from $164 million the prior year, shows the service moving from budgeting for counter-drone threats to buying specific systems. This brand-name solicitation for DroneShield kits is one of the first visible results of that funding shift at an installation level.
For residents near Joint Base San Antonio, the purchase signals new counter-drone equipment on the installation, though the notice does not describe any public-facing changes. Small businesses and resellers interested in supplying the kits will need to respond by the November 17 deadline.
The takeaway
Brand-name solicitations often signal that the government has already chosen a specific product, so bids from resellers may be the main path to competing for this kind of contract. Readers tracking defense spending can watch the Air Base Air Defense Systems line for further purchases.
What happens next
Offers for the request for quotes are due November 17, 2026, when the Air Force will evaluate submissions for the lowest price technically acceptable quote.
Further reading
For more on how the military is responding to aerial threats, see Military coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Defence Blog.
