VICENZA, Italy U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa is betting that a small embedded acquisition team can do what traditional Pentagon procurement often...

VICENZA, Italy U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa is betting that a small embedded acquisition team can do what traditional Pentagon procurement often cannot: put emerging counter-drone systems into soldiers’ hands in under six months. The command announced a partnership this week with the Army’s Global Tactical Edge Acquisition Directorate, or G-TEAD, to test and field urgent drone-defense capabilities through a new framework called an Accelerated Capability Event. The first event is set for spring 2027 in Tan-Tan, Morocco, and will focus on protecting early-entry command posts and operating locations from small unmanned aircraft systems . The move reflects a growing recognition that the drone threat has outpaced the Army’s normal acquisition cycle. G-TEAD, which operates...

VICENZA, Italy U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa is betting that a small embedded acquisition team can do what traditional Pentagon procurement often cannot: put emerging counter-drone systems into soldiers’ hands in under six months. The command announced a partnership this week with the Army’s Global Tactical Edge Acquisition Directorate, or G-TEAD, to test and field urgent drone-defense capabilities through a new framework called an Accelerated Capability Event. The first event is set for spring 2027 in Tan-Tan, Morocco, and will focus on protecting early-entry command posts and operating locations from small unmanned aircraft systems . The move reflects a growing recognition that the drone threat has outpaced the Army’s normal acquisition cycle. G-TEAD, which operates...