The Pentagon “earlier this month” began delivering the first unmanned systems for its Replicator initiative to field thousands of attritable autonomous capabilities by August 2025, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks confirmed on Thursday.
Hicks’ new Replicator update does not specify the unmanned systems that were delivered or where they’ve been sent, while citing the progress as proving out the effort “is not only possible; it’s producing real results.”
“Together with the private sector and with support from Congress, the Replicator initiative is delivering capabilities at greater speed and scale while simultaneously burning down risk and alleviating systemic barriers across the department,” Hicks said in a statement on Thursday.
Hicks first announced the Replicator initiative late last summer, detailing the effort to produce and field thousands of “all-domain attritable autonomous systems, or ADA2 capabilities, in the next 18-24 months “to help us overcome [China’s] biggest advantage, which is mass” (Defense Daily, Aug. 28 2023).
Earlier in May, the Pentagon confirmed AeroVironment’s [AVAV] Switchblade-600 loitering munitions is one of the capabilities selected for mass production under the first tranche of its Replicator initiative (Defense Daily, May 6).
“U.S.-supplied Switchblade drones have already demonstrated their utility in Ukraine, and this system will provide additional capability to U.S. forces,” the Pentagon said in a statement at the time.
The Pentagon’s Replicator update earlier this month noted the first tranche of capabilities also includes “uncrewed surface vehicles, uncrewed aerial systems and counter-uncrewed aerial systems of various sizes and payloads from several traditional and non-traditional vendors.”
DoD has declined to disclose many details on Replicator, to include naming specific systems involved or breaking down funding lines, with the department having reiterated that the first tranche involved “certain capabilities that remain classified, including others in the maritime domain and some in the counter-UAS portfolio.”
During DoD’s rollout of its FY ‘25 budget request, Hicks noted the Pentagon plans to spend $1 billion over the next two years on Replicator, to include $500 million in FY ‘24 and another $500 million included in its FY ‘25 budget submission (Defense Daily, March 12).