{"id":31529,"date":"2026-07-02T19:02:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T19:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2026\/07\/02\/hegseth-creates-powerful-new-drone-office-pulling-authority-from-the-military-services\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:19:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:19:48","slug":"hegseth-creates-powerful-new-drone-office-pulling-authority-from-the-military-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2026\/07\/02\/hegseth-creates-powerful-new-drone-office-pulling-authority-from-the-military-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth creates powerful new drone office, pulling authority from the military services"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has consolidated nearly all of the Pentagon\u2019s drone and autonomous systems programs under a single new office that reports directly to his deputy and will oversee what Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell called \u201cthe most consequential battlefield innovation of this generation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems, or DRPM-UxS, will become \u201cthe single joint integrator for all unmanned and autonomous system programs\u201d in the department, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/media.defense.gov\/2026\/Jul\/01\/2003956955\/-1\/-1\/1\/ESTABLISHMENT-OF-THE-DIRECT-REPORTING-PORTFOLIO-MANAGER-FOR-UNMANNED-SYSTEMS.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">June 29 memo<\/a> the Pentagon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.war.gov\/News\/Releases\/Release\/Article\/4531728\/department-of-war-establishes-direct-reporting-portfolio-manager-for-unmanned-s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">made public Wednesday<\/a>. Its director, yet to be named, will answer to Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg and oversee how the military develops, buys, fields and sustains unmanned systems in the air, on the ground and at sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The office\u2019s reach is wide, including small drones in unmanned aircraft groups 1 through 3, unmanned boats, ground robots and counter-drone systems. It also covers the artificial intelligence and swarming software that guides them. Unmanned underwater vehicles will be handled jointly with the Pentagon\u2019s submarine portfolio manager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The office\u2019s authority stops short of the Pentagon\u2019s major defense acquisition programs, the big-ticket programs that already follow a separate approval process set in law. That means large airframes like the Air Force\u2019s Collaborative Combat Aircraft and the Navy\u2019s MQ-25 Stingray and MQ-4C Triton stay with the services, as does the Navy\u2019s medium unmanned surface vessel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two existing organizations are now moving under the new office. Joint Interagency Task Force 401, which has led the fight against small aerial drones, will expand to countering unmanned threats in every domain. The Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, the Pentagon\u2019s effort to mass-produce cheap drones, becomes a subordinate element. Neither will see its staff or positions relocated, the memo notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new office inherits one of the largest spending increases in the Pentagon\u2019s budget. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2026\/04\/21\/pentagon-seeks-funds-for-golden-dome-drones-ai-in-largest-ever-budget-request\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">The department\u2019s latest budget request<\/a> set aside $53.6 billion for autonomous drone platforms, part of what Pentagon officials called an unprecedented commitment to drones and counter-drone systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Separately, the memo names the Defense Innovation Unit, the Pentagon\u2019s link to commercial tech firms, as the single point of contact for the new portfolio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The office holds significant power. It will act as the milestone decision authority for its programs, the official who decides whether a weapon advances through development, and it will take precedence on drone acquisition matters behind only Hegseth and Feinberg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The office can act as the top buying official on its contracts, order the services to shift money between programs through the Pentagon comptroller, and stop any system from reaching the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move also centralizes congressional engagement through the DRPM-UxS, requiring every part of the department to clear its drone-related plans with the office before contacting lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The memo says the office\u2019s programs, jobs and people are exempt from the department\u2019s hiring freezes, personnel reductions and reductions in force, and gives its chief the power to hire directly. The memo also lays out a staffing timeline. Once a director is named, hiring is to begin within 30 days, an organizational plan is due within 60 and a full list of the programs moving over is due within 90.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reorganization is the latest step in Hegseth\u2019s push to field weapons faster, a broader \u201cspeed to delivery\u201d initiative that has already drawn warnings from the government\u2019s top auditor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Government Accountability Office report <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2026\/07\/01\/pentagons-push-to-field-weapons-faster-risks-outrunning-its-own-oversight-watchdog-finds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">released Tuesday<\/a> found the Pentagon\u2019s independent testing office, which Hegseth cut from 126 civilian jobs to 30 last year, now watches just 15 of about 110 active programs on one fast-track buying pathway, Defense News reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is the latest of several direct reporting portfolio managers Hegseth\u2019s team has stood up to pull the department\u2019s top priorities under Feinberg, and the widest in scope. What this all means for the drone programs already underway inside the services is not spelled out in the memo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The reorganization is the latest step in Hegseth\u2019s push to field weapons 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