In a major policy shift, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has launched a new initiative to “unleash” U.S. drone capabilities, aiming to equip every Army squad with small, one-way attack drones by 2026.

The Pentagon wants more small, cheap, easily replaced drones in the hands of troops as quickly as possible, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he is cutting red tape to make that happen.

The memo directs the military services to create active duty formations by September, built for the sole purpose of scaling the use of drones across DOD.

U.S. drone stocks are flying high after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he’s fully committed to “unleashing American drone dominance.” Hegseth confirmed plans of “rescinding restrictive policies” to boost manufacturing and accelerate the use of unmanned systems for military purposes in a video recorded at the Pentagon on Friday.

Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 26, 2025. (Andrew Harnik / ) Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary,

Hegseth announced the directive in a flashy video, equipped with a drone delivering him the memo, posted to X, formerly Twitter.

The Senate wants to increase funding for Ukraine's military by $200 million after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth paused Ukraine aid.

Republican senators may have confirmed Pete Hegseth as the nation’s 29th defense secretary, but as Pentagon scandals keep stacking up, powerful U.S. senators are refusing to even discuss the embattled military leader.

Our soldiers responded without hesitation, killing several enemy fighters and capturing a Taliban machine gunner. At that moment, the team leader radioed me. He was suddenly confronting a scenario that every Green Beret officer prepares for during the Special Forces Qualification Course: His foreign counterpart was about to commit a war crime.

The defense secretary said he planned to boost production of drones, and supply combat units with more of them.