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The Department of Defense’s Drone Dominance Program (DDP) aims to massively scale U.S. production and fielding of small, low-cost attack drones (sUAS), with approximately $1 billion allocated over two years. The goal is ambitious: acquire 200,000+ small drones by 2027, potentially reaching 300,000 by 2028, to rapidly equip the military with a trusted, cheap, and lethal small UAS. The drones are intended to be inexpensive to manufacture and expendable in combat.
Recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have validated a crucial principle: thousands of low-cost, uncrewed systems can achieve strategic objectives that previously required multi-million-dollar platforms. However, scaling depends on communications. Without a reliable and flexible link, no drone can support a mission at a remote distance, at tempo, or at volume.
The answer lies not in traditional military-grade communications equipment that takes years to develop and deploy, but in leveraging commercial state-of-the-art solutions enhanced with military-grade security. This approach enables the DoW to break free from century-old constraints and unlock unprecedented operational capabilities
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“The warfighter requires constant connectivity and persistent access to mission-relevant data.” U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert J. Skinner, Director, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)
Table of Contents
Breaking the Line-of-Sight Barrier
Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) communications first matured in the commercial sector. Large retailers and logistics companies pursuing drone deliveries needed reliable command links, collision-avoidance systems, and safe mission-abort capabilities when connectivity degraded. The FAA certification demanded proof of reliability through extensive testing and operational validation.
Many commercial drone manufacturers solved it by leveraging existing network infrastructure, such as cellular towers, satellite constellations, and mesh networks that already provide coverage across vast areas. Instead of a direct operator-drone radio link, the connection routes through commercial network infrastructure. The drone connects to nearby cell towers or available satellite links, the signal travels through the carrier’s network backbone, and emerges at the operator’s location, which could be miles away.
This architectural change delivers more than just an extended range. Commercial networks are designed for reliability and ubiquitous coverage, with overlapping cells, automatic handoffs between towers, and sophisticated routing protocols. This billion-dollar infrastructure investment already exists, is maintained, and continuously upgraded by commercial providers.
Furthermore, the NSA’s Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) program enables U.S. government and DoW users to transmit classified information over commercial LTE, 5G, Wi-Fi, and SATCOM by using two layers of NSA-approved commercial encryption (from two different vendors or platforms), one tunneled inside the other. Still, this isn’t enough for military-use drones.
Within contested environments characterized by electronic warfare and limited cellular coverage, a full-spectrum connectivity solution is critical for mission success. Solutions such as multilink technology aggregate all available communication paths, including LTE/5G cellular networks, tactical radios (P2P/MANET), and SATCOM links, eliminating single points of failure. Spectrum-aware, multilink connectivity solutions ensure the continuous transmission of mission-critical data even when individual networks are compromised. Once operators no longer need to stay near the drone, everything opens up:
- Distance no longer matters: Drones can support deep operations without relocating crews or forward-deployed communications infrastructure.
- Altitude no longer defines risk: Platforms can fly low, stay hidden from radar, and reduce exposure to enemy sensors and air defense systems.
- Operators stay safe: Crews can manage missions from secure, remote centers far from the tactical edge.
- Training demands decrease: Fewer pilots are needed per mission when operating in controlled environments with decision-support tools.
- Mission control becomes flexible: Operators can hand off missions mid-flight to another unit or control center.
This communication flexibility creates a new Concept of Operations (CONOPS) paradigm.
Rewriting Operational Concepts for a Scaled Drone Force
Breaking line-of-sight limitations unlocks concepts of operations that directly address the DoW’s scaling challenges:
- Centralized remote operation centers – Instead of one operator per drone in the field, operations shift to centralized facilities.
- Greater expertise – The DoW can concentrate expertise in specialized centers where operators work in optimal conditions, supported by advanced decision support systems, persistent ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) feeds, and collaborative planning tools.
Reduced risk to field teams – operators no longer remain exposed throughout the mission duration. - Scaled operations – A single skilled pilot in a remote operations room can monitor and control multiple drones simultaneously.
- Reduced UAV vulnerability profile – The distributed nature of commercial cellular networks minimizes the risk of single points of failure.
- Expanded operations envelope – Without line-of-sight distance constraints, mission range becomes limited only by platform endurance.
Built-to-Scale Multilink Connectivity
Traditional thinking about communications resilience focuses on redundancy: backup radios, secondary frequencies, alternative systems that activate when primary systems fail. The multilink communications approach operates on an entirely different principle.
Rather than maintaining idle backup systems, multilink communications aggregates and maintains active connections across multiple carriers and technologies, managing spectrum awareness in real-time. Traffic is continuously steered across multiple cellular modems, private networks, and satellite communications that operate in parallel. As conditions change, the system instantly redistributes traffic across remaining pathways without dropping connections or losing packets, maintaining video quality steady and keeping command links responsive regardless of individual network performance.
This approach proves central to achieving DoD scale. When deploying thousands of drones across diverse operational environments, relying on a single radio method becomes untenable. You need a range of options that adapt dynamically to terrain, infrastructure availability, and threat conditions.
Networks owned by different providers, using various technologies, and operating on different frequencies, create inherent resilience. Adversaries must simultaneously neutralize multiple independent networks across different technologies to disrupt communications.
Scaling Through Commercial Innovation and Production
When conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East demonstrated that low-cost drones offer genuine impact at scale, militaries recognized an opportunity: thousands of smaller, expendable assets, enabling high tactical tempo while reducing risks to frontline soldiers.
The same reliable connectivity, detect-and-avoid capabilities, and command-and-control systems satisfying rigorous FAA type certification requirements for civilian operations provide the foundation for military applications. A system with FAA type certification has demonstrated reliability through extensive real-world operations and regulatory scrutiny.
Furthermore, commercial cellular service costs a fraction of the cost of dedicated military communications infrastructure. When scaling to hundreds of thousands of platforms, this cost differential becomes strategically decisive. Rather than viewing each platform as a precious asset to preserve at all costs, volume production enables an operational calculus based on acceptable loss rates and rapid replacement. Platforms become expendable when necessary to achieve mission objectives, knowing replacements can be manufactured and deployed quickly.
Military applications leverage this proven foundation while adding security enhancements specific to defense requirements. The cycle continues as defense needs drive further innovation: secure methods developed for military use may enable enhanced civilian security, mesh networking capabilities may improve commercial fleet operations, and spectrum management techniques refined for contested environments.
Elsight’s Halo: A Multilink, Secure, and Scalable BVLOS Communications Module
The Drone Dominance Program demands communication systems that meet stringent military requirements while supporting rapid fielding and volume production. Elsight’s Halo BVLOS communications platform directly addresses these requirements.
Halo’s multilink architecture simultaneously bonds multiple heterogeneous networks, including cellular (LTE/5G), SATCOM, and point-to-point/MANET, into a secure, always-on connection transparent to the operator. Automatic, real-time soft handoffs at the packet level maintain uninterrupted connectivity even in contested environments, delivering high-quality, low-latency performance by intelligently distributing packets across available paths.
All mission-critical data are automatically fragmented into AES-256-CBC encrypted packets and transmitted through double-VPN architecture to the Allsight management platform (cloud or on-premises). Even if adversaries intercept packets, they capture only encrypted fragments with no exploitable intelligence value.
Validated in real-world combat operations across multiple conflicts, Halo has earned operational trust. The modular design enables rapid integration across platforms from small FPV drones to tactical UAVs and ground vehicles. At under 100 grams and 6.5 watts of power consumption, Halo preserves platform endurance while operating reliably from -40°C to 85°C.
Halo’s design simplicity and commercial manufacturing approaches enable high production capacity of 10,000 units per month.
Communication As a Force Multiplier
The DoD’s path to drone dominance runs directly through advanced communications technology. Breaking free from line-of-sight limitations, leveraging commercial network infrastructure with military-grade security, enabling one pilot to control multiple platforms, and achieving production capacity for thousands of systems monthly—these capabilities transform drone operations from specialized tactical tools to strategic assets deployable at scale.
Contact us to test Halo on your UAS platform.
Key Takeaways
The DoD can only reach Drone Dominance scale when communications support large fleets, long distances, and high operational tempo.
Removing line-of-sight constraints enables scaling through centralized control centers, safer operations, and a single pilot managing multiple drones.
Multilink connectivity is essential for scaling. It provides continuous, adaptive communication across thousands of drones operating in varied conditions.
Commercial networks and FAA-validated technologies reduce cost and accelerate fielding, making mass production and mass deployment viable.
Elsight’s Halo supports DoW-required scaling through secure BVLOS connectivity, rapid platform integration, and large production capacity.
Communications now define deployment scalability. Reliable links turn small, low-cost drones into a force that can expand to hundreds of thousands of platforms.
FAQs
1. How does Halo ensure secure connectivity in contested environments?
Halo secures communications through multilink redundancy, AES-256-CBC encryption, and packet-level data splitting across multiple independent networks. The platform continuously monitors link quality and dynamically reroutes traffic away from degraded, jammed, or compromised networks to maintain uninterrupted command and control, telemetry, ISR, and video transmission in contested and electronic warfare environments.
2. What networks and links does Halo support, and how does multilink aggregation work?
Halo supports public and private LTE and 5G networks, SATCOM systems, and MANET tactical radio for resilient tactical communications. Its multilink aggregation technology bonds all available communication paths into a single logical connection, simultaneously distributing and rerouting traffic across multiple networks through seamless packet-level handoffs, without communication drops. Halo dynamically prioritizes the healthiest links in real-time, eliminating single points of failure.
3. How can I integrate Halo on my UAS platform?
Halo is designed for straightforward integration with UAVs, UGVs, and autonomous systems using Ethernet, USB, serial interfaces, CAN BUS, and native MAVLink support. The compact low SWaP module can integrate with onboard sensors, ISR payloads, flight controllers, SATCOM terminals, and existing command and control architectures while remaining transparent to mission applications.
4. What are Halo’s physical, power, and environmental specifications?
Halo weighs under 100 grams, consumes approximately 6.5 watts on average, and supports operating temperatures ranging from approximately -10°C to 75°C, depending on the configuration. The platform is available in multiple form factors, including embedded OEM cards and boxed field-deployable units optimized for military, tactical, and BVLOS operations.
5. What certifications, encryption standards, and deployment models does Halo support?
Halo is NDAA-ready and is listed as a component within the DCMA Blue UAS Cleared List. The platform supports AES-256-CBC encryption, VPN tunneling, Remote ID functionality, and secure OTA updates. Deployment options include cloud-based and on-prem management via Elsight’s AllSight management platform for defense and sensitive operational environments.
