U.S. Army drones to hunt mines and FPV threats before Abrams tanks arrive

The U.S. Army has awarded Safe Pro Group a $2.5 million contract to run the Florida company’s explosive-detection software aboard Anduril’s Ghost-X drones to help protect Abrams tanks, according to a company release.

Safe Pro, based in Aventura, Florida, announced the award Tuesday in a release filed with regulators. It’s the company’s first prime contract, meaning Safe Pro works directly for the Army instead of through a larger defense contractor. The release didn’t say how long the contract runs, how many drones are involved or which Army units will use the system.

“We are honored to be awarded by the U.S. Army our first prime contract, a major milestone for SPAI that reflects our team’s relentless work and dedication to building and fielding our novel SI-powered threat detection and mapping technology,” said Dan Erdberg, Safe Pro’s chairman and chief executive.

“SI” is the company’s shorthand for what it now calls “super intelligence,” its term for the software. The Army awarded the work through a Commercial Solutions Opening, a faster process for buying commercial technology, under a topic called “Ground Threat Detection through Aerial Reconnaissance,” per the release.

The software, called Ground Truth Air, runs on the drone’s onboard computer and scans live video for more than 150 types of explosive threats. The release lists “landmines, anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions, and ambush FPV drones” among them. FPV drones are small explosive-laden drones flown by an operator wearing a video headset.

Once the software spots a threat, it marks the location and sends that data into ATAK, the Android mapping app soldiers carry, and into Anduril’s Lattice command software, the company said.

“Ghost-X is a highly modular platform that was built to rapidly leverage best-in-class sensing and software technologies,” said Daniel Leighton, general manager of tactical effects at Anduril Industries. Adding Safe Pro’s tool, he said, gives soldiers “faster, more reliable situational awareness at the tactical edge” for the Army’s tank survivability and reconnaissance missions.

Safe Pro said its models were trained on more than 3.2 million drone images taken in Ukraine, with “over 60,200 confirmed detections” across roughly 16,400 hectares (40,520 acres). The release didn’t give detection accuracy or false-alarm rates.

The U.S. Army picked Ghost-X in 2024 for a company-level small drone requirement tied to its Medium Range Reconnaissance program. The Pentagon announced in April a $16.8 million Army contract for Ghost-X hardware and parts.

Safe Pro’s earlier Army work came as a subcontractor. In June, it won a $1.3 million subcontract from Forterra to put its detection software on uncrewed ground vehicles. The company said in October that its government awards to date added up to “more than $5 million in aggregate awarded contract value year-to-date,” a figure that came before this contract.

The Army has also asked industry for AI systems that spot mines and roadside bombs at least as well as trained soldiers do.

“We look forward to collaborating with Anduril to deliver our SI on Ghost-X drones to protect those who protect us all,” Erdberg said.