Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth established a new direct reporting portfolio manager for unmanned offensive and defensive systems (DRPM-UxS) to oversee the Defense Department’s (DOD) unmanned and autonomous systems portfolio and consolidate drone authorities under a single official.
Under the Trump administration, the DOD has been rebranded as the War Department.
According to a June 29 memo released Wednesday, the DRPM-UxS will oversee efforts to develop, procure, field, sustain, and operationalize unmanned and autonomous systems across all operational domains.
The move follows a series of actions by President Donald Trump and Hegseth aimed at accelerating the DOD’s adoption and deployment of drones and other autonomous systems.
Hegseth wrote in the memo that because “adversaries collectively produce millions of unmanned systems each year across all domains,” the Pentagon “must move at the speed this moment demands.”
“While global military unmanned systems production has skyrocketed over the last three years, the United States has been slow to field these capabilities at scale. Drones and autonomous systems are the most consequential battlefield innovation of this generation,” he wrote.
The DRPM-UxS will have directive authority over:
- Unmanned aerial Group 1-3 systems
- Unmanned surface vessels, except the Navy’s current Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel program
- Unmanned underwater vessels, in coordination with the direct reporting program manager for submarines
- Unmanned ground systems
- Autonomy, artificial intelligence, and swarming software
- Counter-unmanned systems
- Logistics supporting unmanned systems
- Unmanned and counter-unmanned systems marketplaces
To establish an immediate operational baseline and consolidate expertise, the new office will oversee unmanned activities, functions, and associated program funding currently assigned across DOD, including the military services and components, Joint Interagency Task Force 401, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), and the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group.
DIU will serve as the department’s primary interface with commercial industry partners for programs within the new portfolio.
The memo also directs the DRPM-UxS to establish and enforce joint technical standards, interoperability requirements, and open architecture requirements for the military’s drones and autonomous platforms.
According to the memo, the portfolio manager will report to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg. The office will be supported by dedicated staff and receive administrative support from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
Hegseth established several near-term deadlines for DOD personnel to complete tasks necessary to stand up the new office.
- Within 30 days, hire staff for the DRPM-UxS office
- Within 60 days, submit an organizational structure to the deputy defense secretary
- Within 90 days, submit a departmentwide inventory of drone programs and an implementation plan detailing how the office will execute its authorities
- Within 120 days, submit a plan outlining major implementation actions
DRPM-UxS must also provide the deputy secretary with monthly progress reports. The department did not say whether it has selected an interim DRPM-UxS.