US military moves to rapidly deploy thousands of cheap combat drones

The Pentagon on February 2 unveiled the first phase of a new initiative aimed at rapidly deploying thousands of low-cost one-way attack drones for the US military, selecting 25 small technology and drone firms to compete under what it calls the Drone Dominance Program.

In a statement, the Defence Department said the effort is designed to accelerate the acquisition of inexpensive combat drones at scale, cutting through traditional procurement delays, US media reports.

“Drone dominance is a process race as much as a technological race,” Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a memo issued in July 2025 and highlighted by the Pentagon. “We are buying what works — fast, at scale, and without bureaucratic delay. Lethality will not be hindered by self-imposed restrictions.”

The program follows a June 2025 executive order signed by President Donald Trump outlining steps to strengthen both military and commercial drone capabilities, with a focus on affordable, US-made systems.

The first evaluation stage, dubbed “Gauntlet,” will begin on February 18 at Fort Benning, Georgia, and conclude in early March. During this period, military operators will fly and assess the competing drone systems. Based on the results, the Pentagon plans to place roughly $150 million in orders for prototype drones.

According to the Defence Department, those prototypes will be delivered over the next five months. An earlier update in December said the Pentagon intends to select 12 vendors to produce a combined total of about 30,000 drones, each priced around $5,000.

Rolled out in early December through a formal request for information, Hegseth’s Drone Dominance Program aims to rapidly and affordably acquire hundreds of thousands of one-way attack drones by 2027.

Such “kamikaze” drones have been used extensively by Ukraine in its war against Russia over the past four years, drawing global attention to their effectiveness in modern warfare.

Hegseth has argued that the US military can no longer rely on munitions costing millions of dollars to counter cheap enemy drones, stressing that a large stockpile of low-cost attack drones is essential.

The Pentagon expects total spending on the four-phase program to reach $1.1 billion, with frontline troops playing a central role in evaluating drone performance.

Officials also plan to purchase drones in large quantities on a regular schedule, creating steady demand that would allow manufacturers to expand production capacity.

In later phases, the number of participating vendors will be reduced from 12 to five, while total orders are expected to rise to 150,000 drones and unit prices fall to about $2,300. The Pentagon said competitive upgrade cycles will be measured in months rather than years.

By Tamilla Hasanova