The DIU C-UAS LCS Challenge: Winning the Drone War with Innovation

The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the extent to which drones have re-written the nature of battle and security. Everything on the battlefield is now adapting to the ubiquity of small drones, continuously probing, patrolling, and attacking cities and their citizens, infantry, armor, artillery, logistics and critical infrastructure. Nothing is safe. Indeed, even the concept of the battlefield itself has evolved where borders are meaningless and entire homelands are exposed to conflicts.  

Recognizing the pace of change in defending against drone technology, the U.S. Department of Defense has prioritized interagency planning, research, specification and acquisition of counter drone technology.  

At the tip of the spear is the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). As part of its Replicator-2 initiative, the DIU Low-Cost Sensing challenge addresses the urgent need to scale layered counter UAS operations from protecting small sites to securing wide areas and national borders against the escalating drone threat. Targeting commercial sensor entrepreneurs, the LCS challenge recognizes that the military’s traditional sensor systems lack the affordable scalability needed for enhanced threat detection and tracking in a layered context.

MatrixSpace is honored to be selected as a C-UAS LCS challenge finalist  

Consistent with the goals of the counter drone challenge, our technology is a leading commercially available, affordable, distributed radar sensor network purpose-built for persistent low-altitude airspace and near-ground monitoring. Leveraging advanced radar signal processing, real-time data fusion, and AI-driven object classification, MatrixSpace delivers unmatched situational awareness across connected environments. Its software-defined architecture and small, low-power form factor equip governments and enterprises with precise detection, tracking, and threat assessment—ensuring they can protect people, critical infrastructure, and national interests with exceptional scalability, resilience, and cost-versus-performance.

MatrixSpace’s selection by DIU builds on the momentum of our collaborations with AFWERX/U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and HSWERX/Customs & Border Protection enabling security across the country.

As one of ten commercial companies selected from 118 entries, we are delighted to showcase our counter drone detection technology to DIU, USNORTHCOM, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command representatives. Congratulations to our fellow finalists!

Read the DIU press release: https://www.diu.mil/latest/diu-usnorthcom-us-army-announce-finalists-for-c-uas-low-cost-sensing

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