America’s Drone Deficit

The $800 billion annual Pentagon budget pays for the most sophisticated military in the world, yet the United States lags behind its global adversaries in one crucial, very low-ticket category — small drones.

Recent conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East have put low-cost, low-risk drones front and center, especially as they have empowered smaller forces to level the playing field against larger forces deploying more expensive assets.

For a multiplicity of reasons, America has fallen behind its rivals in producing drones. Now, the Department of Defense is working hard to catch up.

“Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, accounting for most of this year’s casualties in Ukraine,” said Secretary Pete Hegseth in a statement last week. “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. US units are not outfitted with the lethal small drones the modern battlefield requires.”