According to the Pentagon, the program is designed to build an arsenal of “hundreds of thousands” of weaponized drones by 2027, with initial flight tests set to begin in February and prototype contracts worth about $150 million to follow soon after.
“We are buying what works—fast, at scale, and without bureaucratic delay,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in a memo cited by the department.
The announcement underscores the United States' drive to catch up in drone warfare amid its lag behind Russia, exposing a gap between Pentagon planning and the actual realities of modern combat.