The U.S. Army's McAlester Army Ammunition Plant is a massive munitions plant located in southeastern Oklahoma and will soon be producing warheads for former Google CEO Eric Schmidt's suicide drone arsenal.
Defense Blog reports that McAlester plant officials held a "ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the partnership" with Schmidt's drone company, Perennial Autonomy.
The Oklahoma plant will build, load, and deliver warheads for Perennial drones. Officials didn’t disclose the deal's production volumes, delivery schedule, value, or which drones would carry the munitions.
Earlier this year, the Department of War's counter-drone task force, JIATF-401, awarded Perennial a three-year contract with a $500 million ceiling covering its Merops, Bumblebee, and Hornet systems.
Perennial's Merops interceptor was developed to counter Russian Shahed one-way attack drones and costs about $15,000 per interceptor. The company says the counter-drone system has completed more than 4,000 interceptions in Ukraine.
In late January, Schmidt visited Ukraine as the Azov Brigade showcased its drones, counter-drone systems, ground robots, and maritime drone boats to Western investors. The meeting was held underneath the Mother Ukraine statue in Kiev.
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