Drones are like ammunition, not planes: Pentagon cuts red tape at Trump's behest
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has issued sweeping orders to speed up drone production and deployment, calling the drones critical to winning the war against Russia and China. From now on, corps-level commanders will be able to procure, test and use drones on their own, without waiting for months of approvals.
Drones are like ammunition, not aircraft
The new memos, obtained by Fox News, state that small drones (Groups 1 and 2) are now officially considered consumables, not expensive military assets. "They should be cheap, quickly replaceable, and treated as ammunition," the instructions say. This will greatly simplify their tracking and procurement. Interestingly, the topic of the memorandum is "Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance".
The text of the Pentagon memorandum has been published. Illustration: Fox News
Cancellation of restrictions and new training grounds
Commanders have been granted the right to conduct training and combat experiments with drones, including autonomous systems, without lengthy approvals from Washington. Within 90 days, three new national drone test sites are to be launched with areas for firing, swarm testing, and combined exercises.
At the same time, the Pentagon is creating a digital platform, the Blue List, a database of approved components, suppliers, and drone characteristics that will be administered by the Defence Contract Management Agency by 2026.
Drones are changing the rules of the game
Amid the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, drones have already proven their effectiveness. From the Shahed, which is massively attacking Ukrainian infrastructure, to Israeli operations against Iran, drones are increasingly replacing traditional manned aircraft. To support the industry, the Pentagon plans to issue advance procurement contracts and provide direct loans to manufacturers. The main focus is on US companies. Hughes explicitly stated that the US should establish dominance in this domain by the end of 2027: "Next year I want to see drones in all Army training, including swarm warfare simulations."
Source: Fox News
