Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military to fast-track drone procurement in a major shift aimed at regaining U.S. dominance in unmanned warfare.
The secretary’s memo titled “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance” comes in response to a June 6 executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at bolstering the domestic drone industry and expanding access to military-grade unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
Hegseth announced he is delegating procurement and operational authority away from “bureaucratic channels and toward frontline forces,” with an emphasis on speed and risk tolerance.
The memo outlines three core directives aimed at overhauling the U.S. military’s approach to drone warfare.
First, the Department of Defense (DoD) will expand the domestic drone manufacturing base by approving hundreds of American-made systems for military purchase. Hegseth emphasized a clear preference to “Buy American,” leveraging private investment to accelerate production and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers.
Second, the Pentagon aims to “leapfrog” technologically by equipping combat units with a range of low-cost drones developed by American engineers and artificial intelligence experts.
Finally, the memo calls for a cultural shift in military training and planning. Hegseth urged senior officers to overcome what he called the bureaucracy’s “instinctive risk-aversion” and fully integrate drone warfare into combat exercises.
To integrate drones more broadly into operations, Hegseth emphasized that “senior officers must overcome the bureaucracy’s instinctive risk-aversion” and incorporate drone warfare into routine combat training, including “force-on-force drone wars” by next year.
Although Hegseth did not cite specific Biden-era policies by name, he signaled that the actions outlined in the memo roll back measures he believes stifled drone innovation and hampered rapid procurement.
“While global military drone production skyrocketed over the last three years, the previous administration deployed red tape. U.S. units are not outfitted with the lethal small drones the modern battlefield requires,” he wrote.
During the Biden administration, drone procurement policies focused on limiting the use of foreign-made systems — an objective the new memo does not appear to oppose, as it clearly states a “Buy American” strategy.
The memo also aligns with broader defense spending trends. The DoD’s fiscal year 2026 budget request includes $13.4 billion specifically for autonomy and autonomous systems — part of a larger $848.3 billion discretionary DoD budget.