Pentagon Creates Unmanned Systems Czar Office to Oversee Tens of Billions in Military Drone Programs
A memo dated June 29 and signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth establishes a new Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems, or DRPM-UxS, to oversee tens of billions of dollars in drone programs across the military, according to Breaking Defense, which first reported the memo, and USNI News, which independently obtained the document
The memo consolidates drone acquisition authority long fragmented across the services into a single director answering directly to Feinberg, and the hiring exemptions indicate the Pentagon wants rapid staffing rather than incremental buildup. Carving out the MQ-25, Triton, collaborative combat aircraft and the Navy's medium unmanned surface vehicle program preserves existing program offices' equities even as smaller UAV and counter-drone efforts move under DRPM-UxS control, drawing a boundary line that program executives on both sides will contest. Absorbing DAWG and JIATF-401 gives the new office command of the bulk of the $54.6 billion fiscal 2027 autonomy research request, making it the primary vehicle for scaling low-cost drone mass against a Taiwan contingency. The office stands up the same week GAO documented a 35 percent reduction in DOT&E's weapons oversight list, leaving uncertain whether programs DRPM-UxS fast-tracks to fielding will receive independent testing that DOT&E no longer has the staff to provide.