The country’s military seeks counter strike drones to take out adversary UAS.  

The Netherlands has launched a challenge to industry to develop “counter strike drones” in a bid to strengthen its kinetic counter-UAS (C-UAS) capabilities, according to a 6 November notice on the EU tender portal from the Netherlands defence ministry. 

Dubbed ‘The Counter Strike Drone Challenge’, the EUR3.7 million programme will look to develop innovative C-UAS capabilities with companies “that do not yet exist or are not yet sufficiently marketable”. 

Specifically, the Netherlands seeks a C-UAS that neutralises adversary strike drones as quickly as possible while minimising cost per neutralisation. 

Sensors, command and control components, and effectors on the system must be capable of being replaced or upgraded without major hardware and architectural revisions, the Netherlands defence ministry said, as adaptability is necessary for the rapid development of drones. 

“If control is required, operation time and complexity must be minimised”, the Netherlands defence ministry added. 

Ultimately, the goal of this operation is to “disable the enemy's strike drone capabilities” by destroying or disrupting them as close as possible to their launch point, meaning the system will have to ideally operate over adversary territory. 

After assessing submissions, the Netherlands will support the development of a prototype with the selected company.  

Pending performance, the prototype will subsequently undergo operational testing during the ‘Fighting Lion’ C-UAS exercise in June 2026 before being considered for “inclusion in the range of military-ready C-UASs”.  

Legal requirements include that the platform is interoperable with NATO procedures as well as local command and control. 

The deadline for this notice is 26 December, while the deadline for submitting questions about the notice or the wider counter strike drone programme must be submitted no later than 14 days before the closing date.