The Pentagon has issued an open call to industry as it seeks to acquire and deploy more than 300,000 small one-way-attack drones over the next few years. The $1 billion push aims to put the systems in the field by 2028, with training designed to take no more than two hours for operators.
According to the request for information, the drones should carry at least 4.4 pounds of explosives, travel several miles across open terrain and operate effectively inside urban environments. The description matches what the industry generally considers FPV-style quadcopters.
The plan will unfold through competitive "gauntlet" trials from February to July next year. The first phase involves 12 companies producing 30,000 drones, with later phases increasing output and reducing vendors. The Pentagon said companies not selected at the start are still encouraged to compete.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth:
"We cannot afford to shoot down cheap drones with 2 million dollar missiles and we ourselves must be able to field large quantities of capable attack drones."
"We will deliver tens of thousands of small drones to our force in 2026 and hundreds of thousands of them by 2027."