Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued sweeping new directives to rapidly expand U.S. drone warfare capabilities, aiming to leap ahead of global rivals like Russia and China. In a bold shift, Hegseth is empowering field commanders to independently procure and test drones, mandating drone combat simulations across all military branches, and clearing red tape that he says has long stifled innovation.
“The Department’s bureaucratic gloves are coming off,” Hegseth declared in a pair of internal memos first obtained by Fox News Digital. “Lethality will not be hindered by self-imposed restrictions. Our biggest threat is risk-avoidance itself.”
Commanders Empowered, Legacy Rules Tossed
For the first time, colonels and Navy captains will be able to directly purchase and trial unmanned aerial systems (UAS)—including 3D-printed models and off-the-shelf drones—without going through traditional acquisition bottlenecks. As long as national security standards are met, units may immediately begin live training and testing, including with non-lethal autonomous drones.
“Small UAS resemble munitions more than high-end airplanes,” the new guidance states. “They should be cheap, rapidly replaceable, and treated as consumable.”
In line with that philosophy, small drones (Groups 1 and 2) will now be classified as consumables rather than durable military property. That change removes them from legacy tracking and simplifies procurement.
Rapid Fielding and Drone Combat Integration
Acknowledging the Pentagon’s historic failure to scale drone deployment, Hegseth said the U.S. must now treat small UAS as mission-critical—on par with major weapons systems.
Commanders are instructed to work with the FAA to fast-track airspace approvals, expand drone spectrum access, and establish new training zones with live-fire and swarm capabilities. Within 90 days, the Pentagon will stand up three new national UAS test ranges.
Weaponization timelines are also being slashed: all drone arming requests must be reviewed within 30 days, and battery certification processes are capped at one week.
2027 Goal: Drone Dominance
Though adversaries like Russia, China, and Iran have jumped ahead in drone innovation, Hegseth aims to close the gap fast.
“Next year I expect to see this capability integrated into all relevant combat training, including force-on-force drone wars,” he wrote, referencing Trump’s Unleashing American Drone Dominance executive order as a foundational tool.
A new “Blue List” digital platform—powered by AI—will catalog approved drone components, vendors, and field performance data. The system, to be managed by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) by 2026, will be continually updated via automated nightly retraining of AI models.
Boosting the U.S. Drone Industry
To jump-start domestic production, the Pentagon will issue advance purchase guarantees, offer direct loans, and prioritize U.S. vendors for major contracts—actions set to roll out within 30 days.
The urgency comes as drone warfare redefines modern combat. Since 2022, both Ukraine and Russia have employed UAS to devastating effect—from surveillance to kamikaze strikes. Iran’s Shahed-136, a cheap but deadly drone, has allowed Russia to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses. In turn, Ukraine has modified commercial drones to attack tanks and ships.
More recently, Israel’s Operation Rising Lion showcased heavy reliance on drones to hit Iranian nuclear and military sites, followed by a retaliatory drone barrage from Tehran.
These developments underscore the Pentagon’s sense of urgency. As drones shift global warfare doctrines, the U.S. is betting big that speed, scale, and tech dominance—not legacy bureaucracy—will determine the battlefield of the future.
