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Unmanned Systems

Hegseth Directs Widespread Use Of Expendable Drones By End Of 2026

By Cal Biesecker

Thursday, July 10th, 2025

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Hegseth Directs Widespread Use Of Expendable Drones By End Of 2026

Anduril's Ghost drone is on the Defense Innovation Unit's Blue UAS cleared list. Photo: Anduril

Responding to a recent presidential directive to bolster American drone capabilities, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military services to take a more aggressive role in quickly purchasing small drones and related components with a goal to widely field these systems by the end of 2026. Hegseth’s order is effective immediately and directs commanding colonels and Navy captains to enable the procurement, testing, training of Group 1 and 2 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)—with a bias toward American-made. “Commanders are…

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