President Trump last Friday directed the Defense Department to conduct a review of programs that could be replaced by drones.
Within 90 days, the service secretaries are required to report on and “identify programs that would be more cost efficient or lethal if replaced by UAS,” says the new executive order.
The directive seems to stem from ongoing lessons learned in Ukraine’s battle against Russia’s illegal invasion of that country where small and medium-sized drones are used regularly to surveil and strike targets across the battlefield and even deep into each countries’ territory.
The Unleashing American Drone Dominance executive order also requires the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to conduct monthly updates of its Blue UAS List, which contains an approved set of small drones that meet the requirements of Section 848 of the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act prohibiting DoD and the defense industry from using drones and related parts made in China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
The Blue UAS has been slow to grow due to DIU’s resource constraints. However, the office recently outlined plans to use third party assessors to speed reviews and increase the number of approved unmanned aircraft systems on the list (Defense Daily, May 16).
The new EO also directs DIU to expand the Blue UAS List “to include all drones and critical drone components compliant with section 848…to the fullest extent practical.” It is unclear from the directive how that is different from what DIU has been doing since the creation of the list during the Biden administration.
There is a ‘Buy American’ component to the EO, but with a caveat. It requires that DoD prioritize the purchase of section 848-compliant drones from U.S. companies “over the procurement of drones made by all other companies to the maximum extent practicable” and allow waivers “only when absolutely necessary to accomplish the mission.”
The directive goes on to say such compliance “does not inhibit the rapid adoption of drone technology required to exceed the capabilities of our foreign adversaries.”
Another section of the EO related to DoD wants the department to work with the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration to shed inefficiencies in granting airspace access for UAS training.
The order also wants DoD to provide Trump’s national security adviser with a report on “unnecessary barriers to accessing electromagnetic spectrum for conducting UAS training.” That report is due in 90 days.