The War Department announced today that 25 vendors have been selected to compete in Phase I of the Drone Dominance Program (DDP), a sweeping acquisition reform initiative aimed at rapidly fielding low-cost, unmanned one-way attack drones at scale to strengthen America’s Arsenal of Freedom.
The program reflects one of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s core priorities since taking office a year ago: aligning emerging technologies with modern battlefield threats. Shortly after assuming office, Hegseth commissioned a new acquisition strategy to accelerate the delivery of lethal drone capabilities directly to combat units.
“Drone dominance is a process race as much as a technological race,” Hegseth wrote in his July 2025 memorandum, Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance. “We are buying what works—fast, at scale, and without bureaucratic delay. Lethality will not be hindered by self-imposed restrictions.”
Phase I of the program, known as “the Gauntlet,” will begin February 18 at Fort Benning. During the evaluation, military operators will fly and assess vendor systems under realistic conditions. The Gauntlet is expected to conclude in early March, at which point approximately $150 million in prototype delivery orders will be awarded. Deliveries are set to begin shortly thereafter and continue over a five-month period.
The Drone Dominance Program is structured across four competitive phases, sending what officials describe as a clear and sustained demand signal to industry. In total, the program represents a planned investment of $1.1 billion, with warfighters placed at the center of system evaluation and development cycles measured in months rather than years. As the program advances, unit costs are expected to decrease while production volumes and operational capability increase.
By 2027, the War Department anticipates fielding hundreds of thousands of weaponized, one-way attack drones ready for combat operations.
The program is sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of War and executed in coordination with the Defense Innovation Unit, the Test Resource Management Center, and the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division.
With funding secured and timelines compressed, department officials emphasized that the effort marks a decisive shift in how combat power is built and delivered.