Pentagon's DOGE unit is said to take charge of massive drone overhaul

[War drones dropping bombs in urban area]
Phoenixns/iStock via Getty Images

The Pentagon’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has taken the lead in a sweeping effort to revamp the U.S. military’s drone program. The initiative that aims to simplify procurement, boost domestic manufacturing and rapidly deploy tens of thousands of inexpensive drones, Reuters reported Thursday, citing U.S. defense officials and people familiar with the plan.

The push follows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s July pledge to remove bureaucratic barriers and reassert U.S. dominance in unmanned systems. Hegseth announced plans to approve hundreds of domestically produced drone models and train combat units for what he called the era of “drone wars,” a direct response to lessons from Ukraine, where mass use of drones has revealed America’s lag in production scale and battlefield readiness.

The involvement of DOGE, a cost-cutting office originally launched by Elon Musk and now embedded within the Pentagon, marks a significant expansion of its influence. President Donald Trump, through a June executive order, elevated the military’s drone modernization program to a top defense priority. The Pentagon declined to comment to Reuters on the DOGE initiative.

The move comes amid skepticism about the Pentagon’s past drone procurement record. Its Replicator program, announced in 2023 to deliver thousands of autonomous systems by mid-2025, has yet to produce visible results. Officials have since said the effort is being transferred to “appropriate end users,” but it remains unclear how DOGE’s project will intersect with Replicator’s goals.

DOGE officials have sought detailed technical data from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and the Defense Innovation Unit as part of their drone review, focusing on specifications such as weight, range and payload capacity. The team is expected to deliver recommendations to the Office of the Secretary of Defense within days.

One person familiar with the plan said the goal is to purchase at least 30,000 drones in the next few months, with larger orders to follow. That would be a windfall for U.S. drone makers such as Red Cat (RCAT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RCAT]), Skydio, PDW and Neros, which are already supplying low-cost quadcopters to military branches.

The effort is being led by Owen West, a former Marine and ex-Goldman Sachs energy trader who previously served as assistant secretary of defense for special operations. West co-authored Hegseth’s July drone memo and joined DOGE earlier this year, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

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