DoD Sets Sights on Small UAS Arms Race, Cutting a Gordian Knot of Red Tape

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s recently published memo was instantly met with enthusiasm from Teledyne FLIR Defense, who quickly upheld it as great news for the industry at large.

The memo, "Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance”, sets out Hegseth’s ideal for DoD and drone usage. Anyone with a good head on their shoulders, or even a pulse will have looked to fighting back East and realized the USA is behind the curve on drones. Investment in them has always been a little anemic besides the costly fixed-wing stuff, because the tech moves too quickly for bureaucrats. After all, who wants to be the one to sign their name on a couple hundred million dollars of drones, only to have technology that’s totally outdated within the span of a decade? But ongoing combat in East Europe and the Middle East has made it apparent that the U.S. doesn’t have the luxury of letting technology mature anymore: Spendthrift groups are getting the job done with COTS drone equipment that costs less than feeding a platoon for a day, and providing thousands of data points proving it essential to warfighting.

“When l became the Secretary of Defense,” the memo reads, “I committed to rebuild our military to match threats to capabilities. Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, accounting for most of this year's casualties in Ukraine. Our adversaries collectively produce millions of cheap drones each year. While global military drone production skyrocketed over the last three years, the previous administration deployed red tape. U.S. units are not outfitted with the lethal small drones the modern battlefield requires.”

From there, Hegseth describes a recent executive order to “support the American drone industry and arm our warfighters,” adding that the DoD “is going above and beyond this order.” “I am rescinding restrictive policies that hindered production and limited access to these vital technologies, unleashing the combined potential of American manufacturing and warfighter ingenuity. I am delegating authorities to procure and operate drones from the bureaucracy to our warfighters.”

From there, he says the mission has 3 parts: “First, we will bolster the nascent U.S. drone manufacturing base by approving hundreds of American products for purchase by our military,” “Second, we will power a technological leapfrog, arming our combat units with a variety of low-cost drones made by America's world-leading engineers and AI experts.” Thirdly, the DoDo will “train as we expect to fight.” To simulate the modern battlefield, Hegseth says, “senior officers must overcome the bureaucracy's instinctive risk-aversion on everything from budgeting to weaponizing and training. Next year I expect to see this capability integrated into all relevant combat training, including force-on-force drone wars.”

Teledyne FLIR quickly jumped in support of the Memo, and highlighted their readiness to tackle anything the DoD needs. Their recently opened facility added 13,000 square feet of room for support and servicing of the Black Hornet ‘nano-drone’, a fave of the Army since 2018’s Soldier Borne Sensor program. Now, their latest iteration has been added to the buy list for DoD and government users.

“Teledyne FLIR Defense readily supports U.S. Department of Defense efforts to bolster our drone readiness and ensure all our warfighters are equipped with the right drone systems, technology, and training to achieve success on the battlefield,” said Dr. JihFen Lei, president of Teledyne FLIR Defense. “The Black Hornet nano-drone, shown flying in Secretary Hegseth’s video, has been supporting America’s military for more than six years.

FMI: www.defense.gov