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Pentagon Establishes Office to Oversee Military Drone Programs

The Pentagon has established a new consolidated office to centralize oversight of nearly all uncrewed and autonomous systems across the US military. Titled the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems, DRPM-UxS was announced via a directive from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and will report to Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg. The organizational restructuring aims to accelerate the procurement, testing, and fielding of drone technologies, marking a strategic priority for the second Trump administration as it prepares armed forces for modern drone warfare. DRPM-UxS will serve as the single joint integrator for unmanned programs, wielding significant authority over capability prioritization, contract allocation, and the continuation or termination of specific systems. Its oversight spans a broad spectrum of uncrewed assets, including small drones, autonomous artificial intelligence platforms, drone swarm technology, ground robots, and both surface and underwater vessels in coordination with the submarine office. The office will also manage recently established drone marketplaces and assume control of key strategic initiatives, including the Joint Interagency Task Force 401 for counter-drone operations and the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group responsible for mass-producing autonomous systems. The consolidation addresses a critical capability gap identified by military leadership. Adversaries currently produce millions of unmanned systems annually across multiple domains, while the United States has struggled to field comparable capabilities at scale. To close this disparity, the DoD has requested an unprecedented seventy-four billion dollar budget allocation focused on acquiring, testing, and deploying affordable, one-way attack drones and counter-drone defenses. Hegseth emphasized in his directive that drones and autonomous systems represent the most consequential battlefield innovation of this generation, necessitating rapid industrial scaling. While DRPM-UxS holds broad authority, certain exceptions remain. Major weapons programs already operating under distinct acquisition pipelines, such as the US Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft initiative, will continue to report through their respective services. The creation of DRPM-UxS, alongside the substantial budget request and expanded institutional focus, signals a decisive pivot toward integrating uncrewed technologies as a foundational component of future US defense strategy. A director for the new office has not yet been appointed, but its operational framework is already shaping the trajectory of American military drone development.

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