War Department Launches Competitive Trials for Mass-Production Drone Program
The War Department announced February 3 that 25 defense contractors have been invited to compete in Phase I of the Drone Dominance Program, a $1.1 billion acquisition initiative designed to rapidly field low-cost, weaponized unmanned aerial systems at unprecedented scale.
The announcement marks the operational launch of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s cornerstone acquisition reform effort, which aims to equip U.S. combat units with hundreds of thousands of one-way attack drones by 2027. The program represents a fundamental shift in Pentagon procurement philosophy, prioritizing speed, competitive evaluation by warfighters, and iterative development cycles measured in months rather than years.
Gauntlet Evaluation Begins February 18
Phase I evaluations will commence February 18 at Fort Benning, Georgia, where military operators will directly fly and assess vendor systems during what the War Department has designated “the Gauntlet.” The hands-on evaluation process places warfighters at the center of procurement decisions, allowing soldiers to test drone capabilities in realistic operational scenarios.
The Gauntlet will conclude in early March, when approximately $150 million in prototype delivery orders will be awarded to successful vendors. Deliveries are scheduled to begin shortly thereafter and continue over the following five months, enabling rapid fielding of proven systems.
Acquisition Reform in Action
The Drone Dominance Program operationalizes Hegseth’s July 2025 memorandum “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance,” which established clear acquisition priorities centered on lethality, speed, and scale. The program structure includes four phases totaling $1.1 billion in planned expenditures, with unit prices decreasing and production volumes increasing across successive phases.
“Drone dominance is a process race as much as a technological race,” Hegseth wrote in the memorandum. “We are buying what works—fast, at scale, and without bureaucratic delay. Lethality will not be hindered by self-imposed restrictions.”
The program structure sends what officials describe as a clear demand signal to the defense industrial base, combining substantial funding commitments with compressed development timelines. By placing operational military personnel in direct evaluation roles, the War Department aims to bypass traditional acquisition bureaucracy while ensuring fielded systems meet actual warfighter requirements.
Twenty-Five Vendors Advance to Competition
The War Department selected 25 companies to participate in Phase I trials, representing a mix of established defense contractors, technology startups, and specialized drone manufacturers. The vendor list includes both domestic firms and international partners, notably including Ukrainian Defense Drones Tech Corp, reflecting lessons learned from ongoing conflicts where small unmanned systems have proven tactically decisive.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Phase I Gauntlet participants (alphabetically):
- ANNO.AI, Inc.
- Ascent Aerosystems Inc.
- Auterion Government Solutions Inc.
- Dzyne Technologies, LLC
- Ewing Aerospace LLC
- Farage Precision, LLC
- Firestorm Labs, Inc.
- General Cherry Corp.
- Greensight Inc.
- Griffon Aerospace, Inc.
- Halo Aeronautics, LLC
- Kratos SRE, Inc.
- ModalAI, Inc.
- Napatree Technology LLC
- Neros, Inc.
- Oksi Ventures, Inc.
- Paladin Defense Services LLC
- Performance Drone Works LLC
- Responsibly Ltd.
- Swarm Defense Technologies, LLC
- Teal Drones Inc.
- Ukrainian Defense Drones Tech Corp.
- Vector Defense, Inc.
- W.S. Darley & Co.
- Xtend Reality Inc.
The diverse vendor list reflects the War Department’s strategy of maintaining competitive pressure while sourcing innovative technologies from both traditional and non-traditional defense suppliers.
Program Structure and Timeline
The Drone Dominance Program’s four-phase structure is designed to progressively increase production capabilities while driving down unit costs through competition and economies of scale. Phase I focuses on rapid prototyping and initial deliveries, with subsequent phases scaling production to industrial quantities.
According to the War Department, the program will field hundreds of thousands of weaponized one-way attack drones by 2027, representing a significant expansion of U.S. military unmanned capabilities. The systems are intended to provide tactical commanders with expendable precision strike options that can be deployed at scale without risking manned aircraft or personnel.
The program is jointly sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of War and executed through a tri-organizational structure including the Defense Innovation Unit, the Test Resource Management Center, and Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division. This organizational approach combines acquisition expertise, test evaluation capabilities, and technical program management.
Strategic Context
The Drone Dominance Program emerges from broader strategic assessments highlighting the increasing importance of unmanned systems in modern warfare. Recent conflicts have demonstrated the tactical effectiveness of low-cost attack drones, particularly in contested environments where traditional air assets face sophisticated air defense networks.
Hegseth has positioned rapid technology adoption and procurement reform as core departmental priorities since taking office. The Drone Dominance Program exemplifies this approach by compressing traditional acquisition timelines, emphasizing competitive evaluation, and prioritizing operational capability over bureaucratic process.
The program’s emphasis on one-way attack systems reflects doctrinal shifts toward accepting higher attrition rates for unmanned platforms in exchange for increased operational tempo and reduced risk to personnel. By fielding these systems at scale, the War Department aims to provide tactical commanders with new operational options while complicating adversary defensive planning.
Industry and Budget Implications
The $1.1 billion total program value represents a significant investment in unmanned systems manufacturing capacity. The competitive structure, with multiple vendors potentially receiving contracts across four phases, is designed to maintain innovation pressure while building redundant production capabilities across the industrial base.
The program’s compressed timeline and iterative structure may establish new precedents for Pentagon acquisition practices, particularly for rapidly evolving technologies where traditional multi-year development cycles risk obsolescence before fielding.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Funding for the program has been allocated and appropriated, according to the War Department announcement, removing a typical source of acquisition delays and providing vendors with confidence in contract execution timelines.
The February 18 start date for Gauntlet evaluations places the program on a rapid operational schedule, with initial contract awards expected within approximately two weeks of evaluation completion. This accelerated timeline reflects the program’s emphasis on speed as a competitive advantage in technology adoption.
