Overview

• Hegseth’s public memorandums reclassify small Group 1 and 2 drones as consumable assets, removing them from legacy tracking and streamlining acquisition for unit commanders.
• Colonels and Navy captains can now independently procure and field commercial, prototype and 3D-printed UAS, bypassing traditional Pentagon approvals.
• The directives require collaboration with the FAA to lift range and spectrum restrictions and establish three national test sites within 90 days for live-fire, combined-arms and swarm exercises.
• The Pentagon is developing an AI-powered “Blue List” catalog of approved drone components and vendors to be operational by 2026.
• Shares of drone makers such as Red Cat Holdings and AeroVironment jumped up to 23%, and the Pentagon has broken ground on test ranges while rolling out digital procurement tools.