SARASOTA, Fla. – (Oct. 12, 2026) – Mountain Horse Solutions, a Global Ordnance company focused on mission-critical support, unmanned systems and integrated defense solutions, is delivering additional FD-1 interceptors to the U.S. Army under a second contract awarded by the U.S. Army’s Global Tactical Edge Acquisition Directorate (G-TEAD). The award, issued under an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), follows an initial G-TEAD OTA awarded this spring. This marks two awards and a fielded capability within a single year, reflecting G-TEAD’s emphasis on accelerating new systems to soldiers.
“G-TEAD changed what is possible, allowing us to combine soldier feedback with our ability to rapidly improve and deliver capability,” said Bill Allen, president of Mountain Horse Solutions. “Soldiers assessed the FD-1 and told us what needed improvement. We turned those updates around within weeks, and G-TEAD provided a way to buy the revised version without waiting on a requirements cycle. That sequence did not exist three years ago.”
The FD-1 is a compact, dual-use interceptor designed to defeat Group 1–3+ Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) as well as ground targets. It can be emplaced and airborne in under two minutes, is employed by a single operator rather than a crew and is designed to integrate behind an existing detection and tracking layer as the defeat capability, or to operate as a standalone system. The operator maintains positive control throughout the engagement, and a human authorizes every engagement.
The system was developed to address a cost problem that has strained conventional air defense: inexpensive, expendable drones fielded in volume against interceptors that cost far more than the threats they defeat. The FD-1 is intended to close that gap while remaining simple enough for one soldier to set up and employ in the field.
G-TEAD, the Army’s acquisition hub for the tactical edge and a core component of the Army Pathway for Innovation and Technology (PIT), was established to close the gap between how quickly threats evolve and how quickly the Army can field a response. It brings acquisition expertise and authorities closer to Army Service Component Commands while connecting them with research, development, test and evaluation resources.
Through Accelerated Capability Events (ACE), soldiers can assess operationally ready equipment and software, provide feedback and help shape systems before broader fielding. The process is designed to accelerate validated technologies toward acquisition and operational use.
Supporting the process, the 409th Contracting Support Brigade provides contracting expertise and execution for G-TEAD efforts, helping move validated capabilities into acquisition actions on accelerated timelines. The brigade played a key role in the FD-1 award, providing the contracting support needed to maintain momentum from evaluation and refinement into procurement.
The FD-1 has been evaluated by G-TEAD, the 52nd Air Defense Artillery and the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC), with Mountain Horse Solutions incorporating feedback throughout development. Following the initial operational assessment, the company delivered a series of user-driven upgrades within five weeks, a cycle it repeated after each subsequent assessment.
“The value of these assessments is that they are extremely insightful,” said Richard Budniewski, director of UAS/C-UAS Programs at Mountain Horse Solutions. “Soldiers find things a test range never will. G-TEAD built the pathway that turns their feedback into fielded improvements within weeks instead of program cycles and then gave the Army a way to order it. That is the part industry has been waiting on.”
The system took first prize in the U.S. Army xTech Counter Strike competition in November 2025, and its technical review by ATEC is complete.
G-TEAD’s Accelerated Capability Events are designed to move technologies from event conception to capability transition within 180 days. The FD-1 effort has tracked within that timeline from operational assessment through this award.
Mountain Horse Solutions is currently producing the FD-1 and has capacity to scale to meet additional demand, including orders placed by allied and partner nations.
System quantities and contract value are not disclosed.
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