The Department of Defense has established a new Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for unmanned offensive and defensive systems, designated DRPM-UxS, according to a memorandum dated June 29 and publicly released July 1.
Secretary Hegseth signed the memo, which names the new office the single joint integrator for all unmanned and autonomous systems programs across the department; its director will report to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg once appointed. No individual has been named to the role, and it remains unclear whether the position will require Senate confirmation.
“This structural reorganization directly implements a series of decisive actions taken by the administration. Drones and autonomous systems represent the most consequential battlefield innovation of this generation,” said Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman, in the department’s announcement. “Adversaries collectively produce millions of unmanned systems each year across all domains. While global military production has skyrocketed over the last three years, the United States must move at the speed this moment demands to field these capabilities at scale and secure our tactical and strategic edge.”
The memo grounds the new office in four prior executive orders and a July 10, 2025 implementing memorandum from Hegseth. The orders are EO 14307, “Unleashing American Drone Dominance,” and EO 14305, “Restoring American Airspace Sovereignty,” both signed June 6, 2025; EO 14265 on defense acquisition reform, signed April 9, 2025; and EO 14275 on federal procurement, signed April 15, 2025. Hegseth’s July 2025 memo had already committed the department to strengthening the domestic drone manufacturing base, arming combat units with low-cost unmanned systems, and training the force to operate them.
DRPM-UxS holds directive authority over unmanned aerial group 1-3 systems, unmanned surface vessels, unmanned underwater vessels, unmanned ground systems, unmanned autonomy/AI/swarming software, counter-unmanned systems, unmanned systems logistics, and unmanned and counter-unmanned systems marketplaces, including approval authority over any new marketplaces the services want to stand up. Several higher-tier programs are explicitly excluded: the Navy’s medium unmanned surface vessel program, the carrier-based MQ-25 Stingray tanker, the MQ-4 Triton surveillance aircraft, and the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Unmanned underwater vessels will be handled in coordination with the Direct Reporting Program Manager for Submarines, currently Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher.
To establish an immediate operational baseline, the memo dual-hats the directors of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF-401) and the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG) as elements under DRPM-UxS. JIATF-401’s director gains added responsibility for countering all drone systems regardless of domain, beyond its existing counter-small-UAS mission; DAWG, which grew out of the prior administration’s Replicator initiative, brings its swarm-autonomy portfolio into the same structure. Both organizations’ existing personnel alignment and billet structures remain unchanged. The Defense Innovation Unit becomes the designated primary industry engagement interface for DRPM-UxS portfolio programs, building on its earlier role as the original home of the Blue UAS list before that vetting function moved to the Defense Contract Management Agency for scale.
On acquisition, DRPM-UxS is designated Milestone Decision Authority for its portfolio programs, taking precedence on acquisition matters below only the secretary and deputy secretary of defense. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment will support execution, including use of streamlined authorities such as Other Transaction Authorities and Commercial Solutions Openings. The office also gains direct input into program elements and funding levels during the President’s Budget Request process, authority to direct Service contracting activities, and technical authority to set joint standards, including Modular Open Systems Architecture and Open Mission Systems/Universal Command and Control Interface requirements, across the portfolio.
Additional authorities include original classification authority up to Top Secret, authority to halt fielding of any system not ready for production, direct-hire authority exempt from department hiring freezes and personnel reductions, and Code 3 military airlift priority for official travel. DRPM-UxS will also chair the sUAS Industrial Base Working Group mandated under Section 914 of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.
The memo sets a deadline structure for standing up the office: 30 days to begin staffing core functions including contracting, legal, legislative affairs and IT; 60 days to deliver an organizational construct to the deputy secretary; 90 days to define the full UxS program baseline and submit an implementation plan; and 120 days to prepare a plan covering near-term program challenges, production-gate milestones and a timeline to full operating capability. Monthly progress updates and quarterly in-person briefings to the deputy secretary are required afterward.
The new office follows a model the department has used twice before for high-priority programs: Gen. Michael Guetlein was named DRPM for the Golden Dome missile defense effort in July 2025, and Gen. Dale White took over a portfolio of major Air Force weapons systems, including the B-21 bomber, F-47 fighter and Sentinel ICBM, later that year. Air Force officials have credited that restructuring with helping stabilize the Sentinel program after its 2024 Nunn-McCurdy cost overrun review. Separately, lawmakers have floated the idea of an all-robotics combatant command, though that proposal is not part of this memo.
What to watch: who is named to lead DRPM-UxS and whether the post requires Senate confirmation, how the JIATF-401/DAWG dual-hatting plays out against their existing missions, and how the office’s program baseline, due in 90 days, treats the carve-outs for larger Navy and Air Force unmanned platforms.
