"While global military drone production skyrocketed over the last three years, the previous administration deployed red tape," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in the Unleashing US Military Drone Dominance memo.
Hegseth's directive and the Pentagon's stated goal
The Department of Defense has moved to accelerate acquisition of small, one‑way attack drones after a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "unleash" the drone industrial base. The department's public materials say the effort aims to boost production and to provide every squad with the weapon "later this year," and that Hegseth ordered units to be outfitted with these lethal small drones by the end of fiscal 2026.
How many drones were ordered and what has arrived
According to the Drone Dominance "Leaderboard" website, the Pentagon has placed orders for 20,000 small, first‑person view (FPV) drones from 10 of the top 11 vendors that competed in the Gauntlet 1 competition. That total is 10,000 fewer than a previously predicted order figure, and one vendor from the top 11, Napatree, has not yet been awarded a contract.
The Leaderboard shows Neros, producer of the Archer small quadcopter, leading deliveries: Neros has shipped all 2,400 of its ordered drones to the military and had 1,040 of those accepted. Other vendors have shipped a combined 560 drones that are currently awaiting acceptance, while the remainder of the ordered drones are in various states of production.
Gauntlet competitions: scale, follow‑on testing, and Camp Grayling
The Pentagon's initial evaluation used a "Gauntlet" competition model. The first Gauntlet drew 25 competitors and produced a top‑11 ranking. The department plans a second Gauntlet focused on platforms suited for long‑range strike and tactical assault in close quarters. The department's website says 49 companies have been asked to bring 79 "unique" drones to Camp Grayling, Michigan, for a qualifier event connected to that next Gauntlet.
Winners of the lethality challenge and Group 1 payloads
Separately, the department selected five companies as winners of a "lethality" challenge to potentially supply payloads for Group 1 drones (those weighing 20 pounds or less). The five named winners are Bravo Ordnance, Kela Defense, Kraken Kinetics, Mountain Horse and Northrop Grumman.
Army contract to Griffon Aerospace and Outlaw family details
In parallel with the Gauntlet approach, individual services continue direct procurement. The Army awarded Griffon Aerospace a $68 million contract to deliver an unspecified number of Outlaw Gen 3 drones by the end of March 2027 "in support" of the U.S. war against Iran. A company official declined to provide details about the Gen 3 design.
The company lists an earlier model, the Outlaw Gen G2E, as a fixed‑wing aircraft 8.7 feet long with a 16‑foot wingspan that can carry payloads between 20 and 40 pounds. Griffon markets that model as suitable for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
What this means for squadrons, vendors, and adversaries
- Squadrons and tactical units: The department's stated objective is to outfit every squad with small, one‑way attack drones by the end of fiscal 2026, and program materials say the Pentagon expects to begin accepting deliveries and to field systems "later this year."
- Vendors and the drone industrial base: The Gauntlet competitions have produced a ranked buying list and a set of lethality winners; at least 10 vendors have contracts covering 20,000 drones, and production and acceptance are already underway, with Neros reporting full shipment of its 2,400‑unit order.
- Adversaries and operators observing the war in Ukraine: The department cited lessons from the Ukrainian‑Russian war, noting that cheap FPV drones "have played a prominent role" in that conflict and have left "a string of combat vehicles from both sides smoldering on the battlefield," a context the Pentagon says is informing its acquisition push.
The Pentagon says it plans roughly $1 billion in drone purchases over a two‑year window and continues to use multi‑vendor competitions and targeted contracts to move rapidly from evaluation to fielding. The program's web posts show deliveries have started, acceptance is proceeding incrementally, and follow‑on competitions and service contracts are running in parallel — leaving procurement and production schedules to be watched closely as the department seeks to meet the squad‑level fielding goal by the end of fiscal 2026.
