Pentagon Puts Nearly All Drone Programmes Under One Portfolio Manager
· TexaHub · Drones, Defence & Security, Artificial Intelligence
A June 29 memo creates DRPM-UxS, a single office with acquisition authority over most US military drone, autonomy and counter-drone work. Nobody has yet been named to run it.
What the memo does
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has created a Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for unmanned systems, known as DRPM-UxS, which the memo describes as "the single joint integrator for all unmanned and autonomous system programs" in the department [1]. The memo is dated June 29 and the Pentagon released it on Wednesday 1 July [2], hours after Breaking Defense first reported its contents [1].
The office's director will report to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg [2]. According to Hegseth, the director will "direct all activities to develop, procure, field, sustain, and operationalize unmanned and autonomous systems across all domains" [2]. The memo names no individual and sets no date for the post to be filled [1].
Hegseth framed the change as a response to adversary output. "Adversaries collectively produce millions of unmanned systems each year across all Domains," he wrote, adding that the United States "has been slow to field these capabilities at scale" and that drones and autonomous systems are "the most consequential battlefield innovation of this generation" [1].
What is in, and what is not
Military Times reports that the portfolio covers small drones in unmanned aircraft groups 1 through 3, unmanned boats, ground robots and counter-drone systems, as well as the artificial intelligence and swarming software that guides them [4]. Unmanned underwater vehicles will be handled jointly with the Pentagon's submarine portfolio manager [4].
Major defence acquisition programmes stay with the services. That keeps the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the Navy's MQ-25 Stingray and MQ-4C Triton, and the Navy's medium unmanned surface vessel outside the new office [4]. The Maritime Executive describes the excluded aviation programmes as systems over about 1,300 pounds, and reports that the MUSV programme remains under the Navy's Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Robotic Autonomous Systems [5].
Two existing organisations move under the new office. Joint Interagency Task Force 401, which has led counter-small-drone work, will expand to countering unmanned threats in every domain, and the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group becomes a subordinate element; the memo says neither will see staff or billets relocated [4]. Their leaders will be "dual-hatted" as elements under the DRPM [3].
Where the power sits
On paper the office is strong. It will act as milestone decision authority for its programmes, take precedence on drone acquisition matters behind only Hegseth and Feinberg, can order the services to shift money between programmes through the comptroller, and can stop a system from reaching the field [4]. Business Insider notes it can also prioritise some capabilities or contracts over others [6].
The memo makes the Defense Innovation Unit the primary interface with commercial companies for programmes in the portfolio [2]. The DRPM will head the sUAS Industrial Base Working Group, and new drone or counter-drone marketplaces can only be created with its approval [3]. Other parts of the department must clear drone-related plans with the office before contacting lawmakers [4].
The memo exempts the office's programmes and staff from hiring freezes and reductions in force. Once a director is named, hiring is due to start within 30 days, an organisational plan within 60 and a full list of transferring programmes within 90 [4]. An executive board chaired by the deputy secretary will include the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the military department heads and the under secretaries for acquisition and for research and engineering [3].
Reported budget figures vary with what is counted. Military Times cites $53.6 billion in the latest request for autonomous drone platforms [4], while Business Insider cites what Pentagon officials called a $74 billion request for drones and counter-drone systems [6]. Either way, the office inherits one of the fastest-growing lines in the defence budget, which helps explain why its acquisition authority is drawing attention.
A familiar model, a harder case
The DRPM model began with Gen. Michael Guetlein's appointment to lead Golden Dome in July 2025 and has since been applied to submarines and to an Air Force portfolio that includes the B-21, F-47 and Sentinel [1]. Breaking Defense noted that the drone portfolio may resemble the Golden Dome arrangement, because each service runs drone programmes in the air, on the ground and at sea [1].
Ten days on, no one had been named and there were not even widespread rumours about candidates, Breaking Defense reported on 10 July [7]. Jack Shanahan, the retired lieutenant general who led Project Maven and the Joint AI Center, said that if the office stays lean and keeps top-level backing, "it may turn out to be a master stroke", and if not, "it could end up looking like the F-35 JPO" [7].
Former assistant secretary David Berteau pointed out that the memo lists nine broad categories under the office's authority but gives no definitive list of programmes, and that budget disputes go to Feinberg [7]. "In the short run, it will slow things down," he said [7]. Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall called the move "a big vote of no confidence in the services" [7], while Rebecca Grant of the Lexington Institute backed it, saying the department wants "to buy 200,000 drones right now" [7].
What to watch
The services are still building their own drone institutions. On 2 July the Marine Corps announced a Robotics Integration Group at Twentynine Palms to standardise Group 1 and 2 drone and counter-drone training [8]. How such service-level bodies relate to a central portfolio office is one of the questions the memo leaves open.
The first tests are practical. They are who is appointed, how quickly the 30-, 60- and 90-day tasks are met, and whether the programme list settles the scope questions experts have raised. Until then, the memo is a statement of intent, and the office's influence will depend on whether the deputy secretary backs it when disputes with the services arise.
Sources
[1] EXCLUSIVE: Hegseth creates autonomy czar to manage almost all drone efforts — Breaking Defense, 1 Jul 2026
[2] Hegseth realigning DOD's scattered unmanned and autonomy work under new drone boss — DefenseScoop, 1 Jul 2026
[3] Under new management: the Pentagon's autonomous systems get new oversight — Defense One, 1 Jul 2026
[4] Hegseth creates powerful new drone office, pulling authority from the military services — Military Times, 2 Jul 2026
[5] Pentagon Puts All Drone Programs Under One Office, Except Navy's MUSV — The Maritime Executive, 1 Jul 2026
[6] Hegseth stands up a new drone office with authority on everything from one-way attack drones to ground robots and boats — Business Insider, 3 Jul 2026
[7] New drone czar's success hinges on personalities, Pentagon politics: Experts — Breaking Defense, 10 Jul 2026
[8] Marine Corps establishes robotics integration group for drone and counter-drone training — DefenseScoop, 6 Jul 2026