Vector unveils Warfighter's Stack of Mace drone, HV-ESAD arming device and Hilt controller

· Drones

TLDR

  • Vector announced the Warfighter's Stack on 2 November: the Mace drone, an arming device and a hand controller.1
  • Defense News describes it as a one-way attack drone system, while Vector calls Mace a compact, attritable drone.12
  • Defense News says Vector ranked fourth in Close Quarters Battle; UAS Vision lists Vector with 5,000 drones in line.23

Vector, a Bluffdale, Utah company that describes itself as a modern warfare-as-a-service business, announced the Warfighter's Stack on 2 November: the Mace drone, a High-Voltage Electronic Safe and Arm Device (HV-ESAD) and the Hilt hand controller.1 Defense News, reporting on 5 November, describes the stack as an integrated one-way attack drone system.2

Vector says Mace is a compact, closed-prop, attritable drone for confined and complex environments, carrying payloads of up to 1.1 pounds, with electronic warfare resilience, fibre-optic tethering, native ATAK integration, altitude hold, and support for ArduPilot and Betaflight firmware.1 It says HV-ESAD gives remote arming and safing of energetic payloads with real-time status on the pilot's on-screen display, and that the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) selected it across the lethality and munitions tracks of the Drone Dominance Program (DDP).1 Hilt is an NDAA-compliant controller built for use with gloves and body armour and at night, which Vector says is available now.1 These are the company's own descriptions. Defense News reports that Vector says it can "fulfill orders in the thousands" but declined to give details on contracts or timelines.2

Defense News says Vector ranked fourth in the close-quarters battle category in the latest round of the programme, resulting in a government order for 5,000 of its drones.2 UAS Vision, citing Defence Blog and the programme's leaderboard, reports that the Defense Innovation Unit is preparing orders for 60,000 small attack drones from nine companies after Gauntlet II, a flyoff held in August 2026 at Fort Carson, Colorado.3 In the Close Quarters Battle category it lists ORQA US with 7,000 drones, XTEND with 6,000, Vector with 5,000 and ModalAI with 4,000, with final quantities to be set when contracts are awarded.3 It also reports Vector saying it received orders for up to 5,000 drone systems along with HV-ESAD.3

Why it matters: Vector's Warfighter's Stack groups a drone, an arming device and a controller into one system, and Defense News reports the company declined to give contract or timeline details, while UAS Vision says final order quantities will be set when contracts are awarded.123

Sources

  1. Vector Introduces the Warfighter's Stack: Mace, HV-ESAD, and Hilt (Vector)
  2. Vector introduces ready-to-go one-way attack drone (Defense News)
  3. US Orders 60,000 Attack Drones from Nine Companies (UAS VISION)