Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III speaks with Singaporean Minister of Defense Ng Eng Hen before a bilateral exchange at the Pentagon, Washington, DC, July 15, 2024. (DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza)

WASHINGTON — As the U.S. military looks for cost-effective ways to combat the drone threat on land and at sea, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and Singapore’s Ministry of Defense announced this week that they are conducting a 12-week initiative to develop “novel” communications systems for unmanned aerial vehicles that will help ships near shore detect and jam “unauthorized drones.”

“We are proud to contribute to the strategically important efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation with Singapore in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific, and look forward to working with our partners in Singapore to find concrete solutions to the urgent security challenge posed by unauthorized drones and to provide critical support for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” DIU Director Doug Beck said in a press release Thursday.

“We are excited to see what the international innovation base – starting with the great technology in Singapore and the US – is doing to support these important missions.”

However, not every company can take part in this challenge. Companies must be in the early to mid-stage of development or non-traditional companysays the press releaseIn addition, the companies must either be US-owned and operated, from a NATO country, the Five Eyes Alliance, the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

This is the first official collaboration between the DIU and Singapore, which has resulted from a Memorandum of Understanding for defence cooperationsays the press releaseThe memorandum was signed by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the end of May and Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng He justified this by saying that both countries would provide resources for on-board systems to defend against unmanned aircraft and for resistance to electromagnetic interference.

The May agreement preceded another agreement signed in July between the two countries to strengthen their relations in the field of artificial intelligence. However, that agreement came just days after Singapore signed a similar agreement on civil artificial intelligence with China.

Related: US and Singapore strengthen ties in artificial intelligence after the small country previously reached an agreement with China

“The agreement (with the US) is a next step in security cooperation between Singapore and the US and supports relations in addressing an evolving issue of mutual interest,” Ian Chong, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore and an expert on the Chinese military, told Breaking Defense in July after the AI ​​deal: “However, Singapore needs to somehow separate its cooperation with the US from the digital and cyber cooperation programs it also has with the PRC.”

As part of the new DIU Singapore initiative, companies can take part in the challenge until October 30. According to the press release, the winner will receive Part of the $300,000 prize pool.