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By Peter Aitken and Gabe Whisnant
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a sweeping overhaul of the military's drone strategy, calling for accelerated modernization, expanded production and the elimination of regulations that could hinder innovation, according to a video released by the Pentagon Thursday afternoon.
Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon by email on Thursday afternoon for comment.
Why It Matters
Various militaries have increasingly relied on drones for modern warfare. Former President Barack Obama increased the number of drone strikes tenfold during his administration compared to those ordered by his predecessor, President George W. Bush.
Read More on Politics
The Russia-Ukraine war has also shown the greater importance modern militaries have placed on drone warfare as a means of equalizing disparities in fighting power: The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) earlier this year reported that an estimated 100 different types of drones have been used in Ukraine "ranging from toy-sized systems to larger models with wingspans of almost 20 meters."
Iran has also developed stronger ties with Russia by providing the latter with drones, which have become a major export for the Mideast nation.
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What To Know
Under the directives in a new Pentagon memo, commanders across all branches of the armed forces will have the authority to procure and test drones independently. Fox News first published a copy of the memo, which discussed the need to keep pace as "global military drone production skyrocketed" over recent years.
The policy also aims to slash red tape, allowing for expedited training and testing processes. Hegseth also instructed the military to classify small drones as "consumable assets" rather than long-term, durable equipment.
Hegseth announced the directive in a flashy video, equipped with a drone delivering him the memo, posted to X, formerly Twitter.
"We were brought here to rebuild the military—match capabilities to the threats of today," Hegseth said in the video, bemoaning the limitations of red tape to develop those capabilities.
The initiative is part of a broader push by Washington to rejuvenate its drone capabilities and close the gap with adversaries like Russia and China, who have aggressively integrated drones into their combat operations.
Hegseth emphasized that the Pentagon would leverage "world-leading engineers and AI experts" to develop a range of low-cost American-crafted drones for combat units.
"Next year I expect to see this capability integrated into all relevant combat training, including force-on-force drone wars," Hegseth wrote in the memo.
He cited that drones have accounted for "most of this year's casualties in Ukraine" and argued "drone technology is advancing so rapidly, our major risk is risk-avoidance."
What People Are Saying
Hegseth wrote on X that this initiative is about "unleashing U.S. military drone dominance," tagging DOGE.
In response to the post, Elon Musk wrote: "Long way to go, but good move."
Russian state-controlled outlet RT mocked Hegseth in a message on X: "Hegseth rushes to keep up with Russia's drone tech advances with flashy vid on 'unleashing American drone dominance.' Says US will start pumping out cheap UAVs."
Update 7/10/25, 5:55 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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