Modern conflict has shifted toward dispersed, fast-moving units that operate far beyond the reach of traditional fire support. Their success depends on organic strike capability that lives inside the formation. PDW is delivering this capability to the front lines, giving warfighters the power to rapidly find, fix, and finish high-value targets with minimal signature and maximum lethality from stand-off ranges without relying on manned aviation assets.
In 2025, PDW set out to validate this capability through its Iron Lance campaign, partnering with the Department of War and UK allies to conduct a series of laser-designator and launched-effects demonstrations across the U.S. and the UK. A joint organic cross-domain fires effort, Iron Lance leveraged PDW’s C100 sUAS integrated with purpose-built laser target designator payloads to enable land-air-sea precision strike.
The initiative brought together defense partners and end users to prove real-world performance, interoperability, and mission adaptability while laying the groundwork for expanded effects and mission sets in 2026.
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Download free sample pages More information“The ultimate platform for cross-domain fires, the C100 gives warfighters organic, on-demand precision strike from any domain, without waiting on manned aviation or external assets,” said PDW CEO Ryan Gury. “It delivers the reach, survivability, and targeting authority that modern battlefields demand, empowering ground forces to identify, designate, and neutralize critical targets with unmatched speed and confidence.”
Across four demonstrations, the C100 showcased operational endurance, precise lasing, and seamless integration with U.S. and allied fires platforms. Achieving 35+ minutes of LTD-equipped flight time in challenging winds, stable performance under operational stress, and user-driven iterative improvements, Iron Lance validated the C100 as a modular strike enabler, stand-off targeting asset, and organic fires platform.
“Iron Lance’s successful demonstrations give U.S. military and joint forces a clear path to embrace these next-generation capabilities – expanding organic precision strike options, enabling truly distributed targeting, reducing risk for fires practitioners, and accelerating the convergence of ISR and fires across the force,” continued Gury.
Looking forward, PDW plans to integrate autonomy software into the C100 for sensor-to-shooter automation and expand the Iron Lance campaign to incorporate launched and kinetic effects, further advancing the future of autonomous, organic precision fires.
