The U.S. Army plans to buy at least one million drones over the next two to three years as it prepares for future conflicts, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said in an interview with Reuters.
The service could later acquire anywhere from half a million to several million drones annually, a significant expansion from the roughly 50,000 the Army purchases each year.
“It is a big lift,” the official admitted. “But it is a lift we’re very capable of doing.”
Why Is the Army Accelerating Drone Procurement?
He said the Army is drawing lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war, where small and low-cost drones have been used at scale because of the heavy presence of anti-aircraft systems that prevent conventional warplanes from approaching the frontlines.
Driscoll said his priority is building a domestic supply chain capable of manufacturing critical components such as motors, sensors, batteries and circuit boards. China currently dominates drone manufacturing.
Ukraine and Russia each produce about 4 million drones a year, while China likely produces more than twice that amount, he noted.
How Will the Pentagon Support Its Drone Goals?
The Pentagon is already making significant changes to how it acquires drones.
In 2023, the DOD introduced Replicator, a department-wide initiative to rapidly acquire and field thousands of autonomous platforms.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a 2025 Wash100 Award winner, also issued a memo in July that rolls back policies that limited drone production and access. He also said the DOD will approve hundreds of American products for military procurement, a move that could strengthen the U.S. drone manufacturing base.
In addition, lawmakers have introduced legislation that would establish a drone manufacturing facility in Texas.
However, Driscoll shared that he plans to spread funding across companies rather than rely on a single site. He is aiming to partner with companies that also build drones for commercial use.
“Drones are the future of warfare, and we’ve got to invest in both the offensive and defense capabilities against them,” he stated.
