Vector Introduces the Warfighter's Stack: Mace, HV-ESAD, and Hilt
02
November 2026
BLUFFDALE, UT – Vector, a modern warfare-as-a-service company, today announced the Warfighter’s Stack, an integrated family of three systems designed to give warfighters a purpose-built, end-to-end capability for tactical drone operations: the Mace drone, High-Voltage Electronic Safe and Arm Device (HV-ESAD), and Hilt hand controller.
Designed, engineered, and manufactured by Vector, the Warfighter’s Stack brings together the aircraft, energetic integration, and operator interface required to execute missions in a single integrated architecture. Each system was developed specifically around the needs of the American warfighter and the requirements of the U.S. Department of War, with production and deployment at scale built into the development process from the outset.
The Warfighter’s Stack builds on Vector’s experience supporting the Department of War’s Drone Dominance Program (DDP). Following Phase I of the program, Vector worked directly with operators to gather feedback, identify capability gaps, refine its systems, and accelerate development toward production-ready solutions.
“Each system in the Warfighter’s Stack was developed with input from the operators who will use it,” said Andy Yakulis, Co-Founder and CEO of Vector. “We designed these systems to work together from the beginning, while keeping the warfighter at the center of the development process. Our priority now is delivering these capabilities to the Department of War at the speed, scale, and reliability its mission requires.”
The Mace
The Mace is a compact, closed-prop, attritable drone engineered for confined and complex environments where traditional small unmanned aircraft can face operational limitations.
Developed in response to requirements and feedback from forces in the field, Mace is designed to provide tactical flexibility while remaining compact enough for operators to carry and deploy as part of their existing equipment. The system supports missions across indoor and outdoor environments and carries payloads of up to 1.1 pounds.
Mace incorporates a range of capabilities designed for contested operating environments, including electronic warfare resilience, fiber optic tethering, native ATAK integration, and altitude hold to reduce operator workload. The platform is compatible with low-light and thermal camera solutions and supports both ArduPilot and Betaflight firmware, providing flexibility across mission requirements and operator preferences.
The result is a compact platform designed to give warfighters a highly adaptable tactical drone that can be rapidly deployed and integrated into existing workflows.
HV-ESAD
The High-Voltage Electronic Safe and Arm Device (HV-ESAD) provides a remotely controlled, high-voltage solution for integrating energetic payloads with unmanned systems.
Designed as a universal system, HV-ESAD can integrate across a range of drone and munition platforms while providing operators with remote arming and safing capabilities. The system reports its status in real time through the pilot’s on-screen display, giving operators immediate visibility into the system’s mission status.
HV-ESAD was selected by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) across the lethality and munitions tracks of the Drone Dominance Program, reflecting Vector’s focus on developing modular systems that can integrate across multiple platforms and mission requirements.
By combining universal integration with remote control and real-time status reporting, HV-ESAD provides a common architecture for energetic integration across Vector’s broader family of systems as well as other drone provider’s platforms.
Hilt
The Hilt is Vector’s purpose-built hand controller, designed around the requirements of the modern warfighter.
Vector developed Hilt after identifying limitations in commercially available controllers that were not designed for the operational realities faced by troops in the field. Hilt is built for use with gloves, body armor, and during night operations, while providing a modular, multi-radio architecture for tactical flexibility.
The controller is NDAA compliant and designed to integrate across Vector’s family of systems and broader tactical drone ecosystem. Hilt is now available, with Vector scaling production to support growing demand.
“Hardware is only useful if the operator can effectively employ it in the field,” said Yakulis. “Hilt was designed around that reality. It gives the warfighter a purpose-built interface that is rugged, adaptable, and designed to work with the systems they are actually operating.”
One Stack Manufactured at Scale
The Warfighter’s Stack is designed as an integrated capability rather than a collection of standalone products. Mace provides the aircraft and tactical payload platform. HV-ESAD provides remote arming and safing and real-time system status. Hilt provides the operator interface and control. Together, the systems connect the aircraft, energetic integration, and controller into a single operational architecture.
Because Vector engineers and manufactures all three systems, the company has optimized their integration across the entire stack while maintaining control over the underlying hardware, software, and production process. That vertical integration also enables Vector to move rapidly from operator feedback to product iteration and production. The systems were developed with manufacturing at scale in mind and are already being produced to fulfill orders in the thousands of units.
The Warfighter’s Stack reflects Vector’s broader approach to modern warfare: develop systems alongside the people who will use them, rapidly incorporate feedback from the field, and manufacture at the scale required for modern conflict.
“Modern warfare requires more than individual platforms,” said Yakulis. “It requires systems that work together, operators who can employ them effectively, and the industrial capacity to produce them at the scale the mission demands. That is what we built the Warfighter’s Stack to deliver.”
