The Department of War has issued a request for information to gather industry feedback on its plan to produce small unmanned aerial systems capable of carrying out one-way attack missions.
What Is the Drone Dominance Program?
The program, called Drone Dominance, is designed to provide U.S. producers opportunities to demonstrate the ability to manufacture secure, low-cost, attritable drones at scale, according to a request for information posted on SAM.gov Tuesday.
“The funding provided by the Big Beautiful Bill is ready to be used to mount an effective sprint to build combat power. We call it Drone Dominance,” stated War Secretary Pete Hegseth, a 2025 Wash100 Award winner, on the social media site X. “At the War Department, we are adopting new technologies with a ‘fight tonight’ philosophy – so our warfighters have the cutting-edge tools they need to prevail.”
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The Pentagon will issue $1 billion in fixed-price orders over four phases during the next two years for the Drone Dominance program.
Each phase will begin with a Gauntlet challenge and end with the delivery of production-quality small unmanned aerial systems, or sUAS.
The War Department anticipates inviting 25 vendors to the Phase I Gauntlet, which is expected to commence on Feb. 16, 2026. Only 12 vendors will receive fixed-price orders by the end of the Phase I Gauntlet.
By 2027, the Pentagon expects to purchase over 200,000 drones through the program.
What Information Is the Pentagon Seeking From Industry?
Interested parties are requested to comment on operational simplicity, pricing, design and manufacturing approaches, potential procurement challenges, delivery timelines and supply chain security. The department is also seeking input on capability improvements, counter-UAS technologies and National Defense Authorization Act compliance.
Responses to the RFI are due on Dec. 10. The Pentagon will publish the official request for proposals for the Drone Dominance Program on or about Dec. 17.
How Will the Drone Dominance Program Advance the Pentagon’s UAS Objectives?
The effort supports Hegseth’s July directive intended to overturn restrictive policies limiting drone production and development and streamline the procurement process of American-made UAS by the military.
