Key Points and Summary – In a major policy shift, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has launched a new initiative to “unleash” U.S. drone capabilities, aiming to equip every Army squad with small, one-way attack drones by 2026.
-The directive, detailed in a memo titled “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance,” will slash red tape and outdated training standards to accelerate drone procurement and innovation.
-Inspired by lessons from Ukraine, the plan empowers individual units to acquire and modify commercial and 3D-printed drones, a move designed to rapidly outpace the drone warfare advancements of China and Russia.
Here Comes American Drone Dominance
In a bold move, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for rescinding all of the red tape that has held up drone production for the U.S. military.
Hegseth wants every U.S. Army squad to be armed with small, one-way attack drones by the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2026.
As part of a push to break through policy and acquisition barriers, he is calling for troops to be able to modify small drones as necessary in the field.
Hegseth posted a video outlining his directive and signed a memo that was delivered to him via a drone. We have embedded it above, and it is truly quite something.
“While global military drone production skyrocketed over the last three years, the previous administration deployed red tape,” Hegseth wrote in the “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance” memo, dated July 10.
Under direction from President Donald Trump, Hegseth is making an aggressive push to outpace Russia and China in unmanned warfare: “The Department’s bureaucratic gloves are coming off,” Hegseth wrote. “U.S. units are not outfitted with the lethal small drones the modern battlefield requires.”
He continued: “The directives … support our industrial base, reform acquisition, and field new technology for the warfighter. Lethality will not be hindered by self-imposed restrictions, especially when it comes to harnessing technologies we invented but were slow to pursue. Our major risk is risk-avoidance.”
2023 American Security Drone Act Is “Outdated Policy”
Hegseth directed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, to revise the Joint Unmanned Aircraft Systems Minimum Training Standards (3255.01), excluding Group 1 and 2 drones, while also revising which drones fit into Group 3 — a weight group that includes drones weighing between 56 and 1,319 pounds.
A military official told Breaking Defense that this “outdated policy” – written in 2009 and updated in 2011 – sets joint training requirements based on the group or weight of the unmanned system.
“As technology, mission complexity, lethality, and proliferation of UAS are moving so rapidly, we must develop new standards,” the official added. “The directive for the [chairman] to initiate a revision ensures there is not a policy gap in standards while it’s updated.”
Hegseth Has Three Goals for Increased Drone Production:
Hegseth’s memo outlines three goals.
He plans to bolster the emerging U.S. drone manufacturing base by approving military purchases of necessary American-made products. Removing restrictions deemed outdated by the administration will make it easier for the military to acquire them. This unleashes innovation.
The second aim is to rapidly develop U.S. warfare capabilities to the highest level of quality, and to arm combat units with low-cost drones manufactured by leading engineers and AI experts.
Unit commanders, for the first time, can independently procure and test drones, including 3D-printed prototypes and commercial off-the-shelf systems, so long as these meet national security criteria.
Units can immediately begin training with and operating drones without having to deal with traditional obstacles. They are now authorized to test non-lethal autonomous and unmanned aerial systems in controlled environments.
The U.S. has numerous high-priced drones, but putting them in the hands of every unit down to the squad level is a late development. See what Ukraine has accomplished with such methods in just three years.
Finally, Hegseth said he is committed to training U.S. troops in a realistic manner.
“We’ll train as we expect to fight,” Hegseth wrote. “To simulate the modern battlefield, senior officers must overcome the bureaucracy’s instinctive risk-aversion on everything from budgeting to weaponizing and training. Next year, I expect to see this capability integrated into all relevant combat training, including force-on-force drone wars”
Funding Is The Key … As Always
Hegseth and the Department of Defense’s drone initiative is long overdue, and very much needed.
When adopting any new technology, the devil is in the details, and in this case, the details are in the funding.
Hegseth’s memo addressed this matter, stating that the investment methods Trump outlined in his executive order are being investigated.
Reaffirming the U.S.’s commitment to taking a more active approach to defense, the memo concluded, “the department’s bureaucratic gloves are coming off.”
Budget Dollars in FY2026 Going Toward Drone Development
In the FY 2026 Budget, the Air and Space Forces would get the largest increases in Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation (RDT&E) funding – $62.2 billion and $29 billion respectively, according to a June article in Defense One.
Reconciliation funds will give the Space Force approximately $13.6 billion more for tech than it spent last year. Without that appropriation, the service would be slated to get $15.5 billion for 2026 – $3 billion less than in FY 2025.
The Army and Navy are slated to get $15.4 billion and $29.2 billion in FY 2026 RDT&E funds, including reconciliation dollars, respectively.
A full breakdown of the proposed spending is available from Defense One.
About the Author:
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
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Swamplaw Yankee
July 12, 2025 at 11:14 pm
Well, has stopping the tides command not worked for the flunkies of the POTUS? The Yankee empire slowly awakens to a thousand year old muscovite elite re-conquest of Ukraine. The 11 year old re-conquest of Ukraine war has the inner beltway flat earth brains paying attention. Finally.
The Yankee has known of the Putin inner need to kidnap Ukrainian children since 2014. Ukrainian students were petrified that their little sisters were about to be “Lolitad” by crazed Putin sex groomers. ( and many were) Taking their drones out to help their parents xy spot the caravans of Putin’s sex traders invading armour was a way to stop another in the endless sex trade invasions the orc peasant russians have an ancient tradition in.
The USMC needs a force of 100,000 plus drone operators yesterday. Hesgeth, et al, may be waking up, but full cognizance in drone warfare is hard to achieve.
Hardware of drones if just one factor. Hesgeth needs to mount his own personal expedition to Ukraine’s Downtown Kherson for a full 6 day challenge fight with the orc human safari hunters. Yes, 6 full days of Hesgeth versus the Putin sex trade drone operators. Could Hesgeth prove a dull dud and be killed/crippled by a muscovite operator? Possibly? But, a graduate Hesgeth would have the “required” insight into saving the USA, possibly even the WEST.
That Hesgeth and every top brass in the USA categorically refuse to spend 6 full days in the Kherson human safari downtown kill zone shows all that they are just unready for their vital command positions. Yep, a charitable comment. Perhaps, they are something else as well.
Then cash: The drone war evolves daily. The top brass need to actually be regularly in the Ukrainian drone front lines for a short period.
Cash: the cash spent on drones in the USA is not fully relevant. A percentage needs to be directly allocated to Ukrainian drone expenditures. Or, does Hesgeth claim that the USA can out drone the Han CCP Xi drone army in the next 24 months, anywhere on earth?
With US cash flow into front line R+D that is cutting edge, the USA can technology transfer effective data that protects Americans. Otherwise, the Han CCP Zi troops have the edge on any “pacific” arena in the next 24 or more months.
With a healthy percentage of USA troops exposed to direct front line drone war techniques in the Ukraine, the best Yankee minds can extrapolate drone tech that might deflect or counter the Han CCP Zi military drone armies.
As the Han CCP Zi structure sends unlimited military/drone hardware + tens of thousands of Han military to fight limited numbers of Christian Ukrainians, the USA needs to immediately wake up on multiple “war” reality fronts. Sadly, the Yankee MSM will keep the Doodle Dandies in a state of slumber. The MAGA POTUS can, might slip up and, poof, the USA is so quickly, a real big loser!
The MAGA POTUS Trump has to self-speak the need for the WEST to be victorious in this re-conquest of Ukraine demanded by Putin. Trump needs to lead the WEST to return the illegal theft of every foot of Ancient Ukrainian Crimean soil and all it’s children.
The MAGA POTUS Trump has to demand Putin pre-pay $10,000,000 in US gold bullion to every and each Ukrainian kidnap/torture victim as compensation and reparation immediately, right now, before glib, carnival code words like “peace’ or “cease fire” again passes his lips.
After 10,000 victims receive gold bullion compensation from Putin, the world will see how easily the next 20,000 victims receive their gold bullion compensation.
Or, does Trump still try the tried old carnival con of donating to Putin’s russian “Lolita” child molesters another free POTUS gift of 2 weeks of free cuddle time with their child victims, then another 2 weeks of a POTUS gift of 2 weeks of free abuse time with Ukrainian child victims, on, + on to infinity?? Trump just can not self-find + self-mouth an end to this international scandal that the post-Epstein USA can not bring itself to terminate this ancient genetic ethic russian moral turpitude. That is the horrific, Historic child tragedy emerging from this MAGA POTUS. -30-