US Army to buy one million drones, in major acquisition
U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said the U.S. Army aims to purchase at least one million drones in the next two to three years and could purchase half a million to millions of drones annually in the coming years.
In an interview with Reuters, Driscoll detailed the Army’s massive increase in drone procurement plans and acknowledged the challenges given that the U.S. military’s largest branch today buys only about 50,000 drones a year.
“It’s a big lift. But we’re capable of doing it,” Driscoll said.
Picatinny spoke by phone during his visit to Arsenal; Here he described learning about “network bullets,” defenses that catch a drone in networks, as well as experiments with new explosives and electromagnetic devices synchronized with weapon systems.
Major General John Reim, Driscoll and Picatinny’s top commander, told Reuters how the United States had learned lessons from Russia’s war in Ukraine, which was characterized by drone deployments on an unprecedented scale.
Small, inexpensive drones have proven to be one of the most powerful weapons in the Russia-Ukraine war, where conventional warplanes are relatively rare due to the heavy concentration of anti-aircraft systems near the front lines.
Ukraine and Russia each produce about four million drones a year, but China could probably produce more than twice that number, Driscoll said.
Driscoll said his priority is to put the United States in a position to produce enough drones for any future war, encouraging domestic production of everything from brushless motors and sensors to batteries and circuit boards.
Today, most of this production is dominated by China.
“We expect to purchase at least one million drones in the next two to three years,” Driscoll said.
“And we hope that by the end of a year or two from now, in the event of a conflict, we will know that we can mobilize a supply chain that is robust enough and deep enough to be able to produce the numbers of drones we need.”
Driscoll said he wants to fundamentally change the Army’s perspective on drones; More like expendable ammunition than a “perfect” piece of equipment.
The Pentagon is trying to overcome a checkered history of acquiring drones.
In 2023, Pentagon leaders announced the Replicator initiative, a department-wide effort to acquire and field thousands of autonomous drones by August 2025.
However, no update was provided on the current status of the program.
In July, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum in which he said he “rescinded restrictive policies” affecting drone production.
Reuters reported that the Pentagon’s DOGE unit is leading efforts to overhaul the US military drone program, including the purchase of tens of thousands of inexpensive drones in the coming months.
US politicians have introduced legislation that would direct the Pentagon to build a facility in Texas that could produce up to a million drones a year.
But Driscoll said he aims to spread out financing, not stick to a single production facility.
He said the military wants to work with companies that produce unmanned aerial vehicles that could also have commercial applications, rather than partnering with larger defense companies.
“We want to partner with other drone manufacturers who are using them for Amazon deliveries and all different use cases,” he said.
Chinese imports make up the majority of US commercial drone sales.
More than half comes from DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer.
Driscoll said he is confident there is sufficient funding for growing drone needs and that the Army has moved to retire some legacy weapons systems.
Funding decisions often require the participation of politicians who are hesitant to cut weapons programs that benefit their districts.
“Drones are the future of warfare, and we must invest in both offensive and defensive capabilities against them,” Driscoll said.
