Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is directing the Pentagon to make the development and deployment of anti-drone weapons and defenses a top priority, according to a new memo from the secretary that was shared in part with NewsNation.
The memo makes clear that Hegseth wants the Defense Department to move quickly. It instructs the department to treat any delays in the employment of counter-unmanned aircraft systems as an “operational risk,” a significant shift in how the Pentagon is being told to view the issue.
In the memo, Hegseth laid out a direct approach for cutting through obstacles that could slow the effort down.
“This memorandum directs the Department to accept prudent risks, identify approval paths early, staff them fast, standardize them across the Department, and elevate them when they stall,” Hegseth wrote.
The push comes as drones have become a fixture of modern conflict. Throughout the decade, drones have been deployed in conflicts around the world. The most notable example is Ukraine, where the country has held back Russia’s forces using unmanned systems. Those systems have helped extend the war longer than many thought possible.
The threat is not limited to battlefields overseas. Drones are also being used at the southern border, where the Department of Homeland Security is working to counter attempted smuggling operations carried out by cartels. This summer, the U.S. also used lasers to disrupt cartel drones.
The Pentagon memo warns that the United States cannot afford to fall behind. As drone technology becomes more widespread and less expensive, the memo says, the U.S. must keep pace.
The U.S. military has already taken steps to learn from those with firsthand experience. American forces have trained with Ukrainian soldiers to better understand how Ukraine has used drones in its fight against Russia.
The Army also had a program dedicated to studying the use of drones in foreign wars. However, the general in charge of that program was removed in July, and the program itself was disbanded in August.
Hegseth’s memo signals that the Pentagon intends to take a faster approach going forward. Rather than allowing the approval process to drag on, the department is being told to identify paths to approval early, staff them quickly, standardize them across the department and push them up the chain when they get stuck.
The secretary summed up his message in a single line.
“We will not answer a fast-moving threat with a slow-moving bureaucracy,” Hegseth wrote.
