DFA Systems, an Albuquerque, New Mexico–based startup, says it is developing the Precision Flying Grenade (PFG), a one-way attack drone it describes as simple enough for regular infantry to operate without specialist training.
In a statement, the company said, “In order to be readily adopted by the US military, Group 1 sized one-way attack drones can’t rely on specialist pilots. These systems must be as easy to use as any other weapon a standard infantry platoon carries.” DFA frames the PFG as a response to what it describes as the operational limits of current first-person-view (FPV) strike drones — systems that, the company argues, impose a heavy training burden and are vulnerable to electronic warfare.
“In Ukraine, FPV drones have shown their value, but also their limits,” the company said, noting that while those systems have been useful on the battlefield, they still face operational constraints. DFA’s materials add that hit rates have improved since the start of the war but contend that “still up to 90% fail to hit their targets, primarily due to two issues: They’re extremely difficult to fly. They’re vulnerable to electronic warfare (EW).”
DFA says the Precision Flying Grenade addresses those two problems through a combination of software and guidance tools.
“Our fly-by-wire flight software makes flying the PFG vastly easier than any traditional FPV drone,” the company said. DFA also claims the platform uses “AI-powered terminal guidance [that] enables the drone to find and strike targets, even in GPS- or comms-denied environments.”
The pitch is to integrate autonomy and hardened guidance so frontline squads do not have to detach manpower to operate complex remotely piloted munitions.
“Soldiers can be trained to use the PFG with the same level of instruction required for systems like anti-tank weapons or machine guns,” DFA said. “This means infantry squads don’t need to reorganize, retrain, or offload responsibility to a specialist. They can simply add a smarter, more lethal tool to their existing kit.”
For defense planners, the company’s argument goes to force design and habitability. If the PFG performs as described, it could allow small units to employ expendable precision munitions without establishing dedicated drone units or lengthy training pipelines. DFA’s public materials emphasize usability as a primary design goal:
“We’re not just improving drones, we’re making them usable by the people who actually fight,” the company said.