Startup Neros, founded by former teen drone racers, selected to supply Army drones

Neros, a company founded in 2023 by former teenage drone racers Soren Monroe-Anderson and Olaf Hichwa, has been selected to supply its Archer drones to the U.S. Army, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. The company is based in El Segundo, Calif. Neros is one of three American manufacturers chosen as vendors for the first phase of an Army program buying low-cost, expendable drones.

Specific financial terms of Neros’s Army contract were not disclosed; the Trump administration has budgeted more than $36 million for the “Purpose-Built Attritable Systems” program in 2026, and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll told Reuters the Army aims to buy at least one million drones in the next two to three years.

The company has also raised $121 million in venture funding to date, received a $17 million Marine Corps contract for thousands of drones and won a contract to supply 6,000 drones to Ukraine. The founders’ expertise grew out of competitive drone racing: Mr. Monroe-Anderson and Mr.

Hichwa met in 2017, built drones as teenagers and later began producing systems for Ukrainian forces. The Defense Innovation Unit has championed Neros, with some specialists calling the pair “the boys.” At a military flyoff in Alaska this summer, officials gathered as a Neros Archer flew toward a device that tried to jam it; a Neros drone also was among several buzzing around Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in July as he announced policy changes to boost domestic production.

Key Topics

Business, Neros, Archer, Soren Monroe-anderson, Olaf Hichwa, U.s. Army