Albania, Croatia, Japan and five other countries join the US Army’s drone and counter-drone marketplaces

Eight more countries signed statements of intent on Tuesday, October 13, to join the US Army’s marketplaces for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-drone systems (C-UAS). They are Albania, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, Japan, Kuwait, Morocco and Panama.

The ceremony took place at the annual exhibition of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA 2026) in Washington, with Deputy Under Secretary of the Army Adam Telle thanking the countries’ representatives. At the table with him sat Brent Ingraham, retired General Robert Brown and the representatives of the eight countries, among them Brig. Gen. Petrit Çuni, Tomislav Galić and Maj. Gen. Susumu Kinoda.

According to the US Army’s announcement on DVIDS, with the new signatures the marketplace framework now has 29 countries from the areas of responsibility of the Indo-Pacific, Europe, Central and Americas commands. Among the signatories are two Balkan countries, Albania and Croatia, and three Arab countries, Egypt, Kuwait and Morocco.

From Eurosatory to AUSA

The Washington ceremony continues what began in June at the Eurosatory exhibition in Paris. There the then Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, signed the first statements of intent with nine European countries: Denmark, France, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The US Army described the text at the time as a commitment to faster procurement and training in counter-drone systems, so that countries can detect, assess and field capabilities at the pace the threat demands. It also named earlier agreements with the United Kingdom, Romania, Australia, Poland and South Korea.

What joining means

A statement of intent is not a procurement contract. It gives countries access to the framework through which the US Army selects, evaluates and buys drones and the systems to counter them, so that allies can share data, tests and procurement options.

AUSA 2026 is full of such systems, including those of Greece’s SAS Technology, which presents SeaSting and its loitering munitions at the exhibition. Defence against drones is a priority for the US armed forces, as also shown by the selection of four laser and microwave weapons to protect American bases.

The next step for the eight new countries is to be admitted into the marketplace framework.