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Pentagon Puts All Drone Programs Under One Office, Except Navy's MUSV

Large unmanned aircraft and the Navy's ship-sized drone vessels are outside of the new office's scope

Navy personnel launch a drone boat in an exercise in Gdynia, Poland, June 2026 (USN)
Navy personnel launch a drone boat in an exercise in Gdynia, Poland, June 2026 (USN)

Published Jul 1, 2026 6:45 PM by The Maritime Executive

As the Pentagon moves to expand its unmanned-systems programs in all domains and across all service branches, it is setting up a new command center for all U.S. military drone acquisition and R&D programs. The newly-formed office - dubbed the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems, and referred to day-to-day as the DRPM-UxS - will be in charge of overseeing drone subs, drone boats, terrestrial drones and airborne drones, both autonomous and remotely-controlled. 

"While global military unmanned systems production has skyrocketed over the last three years, the United States has been slow to field these capabilities at scale. Drones and autonomous systems are the most consequential battlefield innovation of this generation. The DoW must move at the speed this moment demands," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a statement. 

The existing directors of the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group and Joint Interagency Task Force 401 are folded into the new office's functions as dual-hatted appointments, to be overseen by the head of DRPM-UxS. "The DRPM-UxS will take precedence on all acquisition matters related to execution of UxS programs after the Sec War and the DepSecWar," Hegseth wrote - including serving as the Milestone Decision Authority (MDA). The office will be exempted from all restrictions on hiring for its own personnel. 

The largest unmanned aviation programs (systems over about 1,300 pounds) remain under the control of each service branch. So does the Navy's restructured MUSV unmanned warship program, which remains under the control of the Portfolio Acquisition Executive Robotic Autonomous System (PAE RAS), headed by longtime Navy engineer Rebecca Gassler.

The recently-completed reorganization of the Navy's unmanned-systems programs and the revamp of the MUSV acquisition were based in part on detailed guidance from the Government Accountability Office, which recommended thorough reforms in early 2025.