Drone Dominance Program Receives First Order, Gauntlet II Gets Underway

Drone Dominance Program Gauntlet Phase II qualifiers concluded last week at Camp Grayling, Michigan. This high-stakes test pitted 49 companies and 79 unique unmanned aerial systems against rigorous mission scenarios, including long-range strikes and close-quarters tactical assaults. Each company brought 20 drones to take on the challenge. The qualifier event was a critical test for a battlefield that is evolving at an unprecedented pace and showcased how the War Department is answering the call with radical innovation. The Drone Dominance Program is a $1.1 billion, two-year effort to execute President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order 14307, which articulated the urgent need for the department to procure, integrate and train with low-cost, high-performing drones manufactured in the U.S. The goal of the program is to rapidly arm combat units with a massive, scalable fleet of low-cost, expendable one-way attack drones. The effort is also expected to increase the flow of private capital into the U.S. industrial base, while simultaneously driving down costs. Sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of War and jointly administered by the Defense Innovation Unit and Test Resource Management Center, the Drone Dominance Program is at the forefront of the department's pivot to a challenge-based acquisition approach. It also means shifting from slow, multiyear cycles to agile, six-month sprints. The program is putting technology to the test in a series of four gauntlet phases — demanding, realistic challenges designed to identify the most resilient and effective drone platforms. At the conclusion of each phase, selected drone technologies are fast-tracked for large-scale production, ensuring warfighters are equipped with a decisive advantage on the modern battlefield. "This is an urgent matter," said Owen West, DIU director. "Our adversaries are scaling their UAS technology, tactics and industries at an alarming rate. Following Secretary of War [Pete] Hegseth's orders, we are acting decisively to develop new defensive and offensive capabilities to match these threats." West noted that the department is already seeing results. The first batch of drones was accepted, with nearly 2,000 additional units shipped to the services and thousands more ramping up for fulfillment. Following a highly successful Phase I, which saw the purchase of 30,000 drones, the department is gearing up for the next major milestone. "As directed by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, we have begun to equip our warfighters with the best drones in the world," said Travis Metz, DIU deputy director. "We have ordered 30,000, which are being delivered now and will be ordering 60,000 more in September, all based on competitive events and moving supply chains to the United States as we progress." By fostering fierce commercial competition via a public leaderboard, the department aims to scale production from 30,000 to 150,000 units per phase, ultimately dropping the target unit cost from $5,000 to approximately $3,000. By 2027, the Drone Dominance Program intends to field more than 200,000 lethal, artificial intelligence-enabled drones, ensuring the U.S. military executes a technological leapfrog to secure an enduring edge over our adversaries. Gauntlet II will kick off later this summer, during which entrants must bring 120 drones as the competition expands into night operations and more complex urban and confined environments.