Pentagon could award just 3 vendors for biggest phase of Drone Dominance Program
Drone makers are lining up to compete for an ambitious Pentagon program where the total value of delivery orders and the number of systems purchased is expected to increase for each phase. But by the time the final phase comes around next year, as few as three vendors could reap shares of the funding allotted for that round, according to documents viewed by DefenseScoop.
The U.S. military’s “drone dominance” initiative was launched last year by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth with the goal of boosting the manufacturing of small unmanned aerial systems, rapidly arming units with attack drones, improving UAS training and cutting red tape.
The department plans to spend $1.1 billion on the Drone Dominance Program and buy more than 300,000 platforms.
The project has four phases, or “Gauntlets,” which are supposed to be independent of each other.
Earlier this month, the Defense Department announced that 25 vendors were tapped to compete for $150 million in delivery orders for phase one (officials did not disclose how many companies sought to participate). That competition is slated to kick off at Fort Benning, Georgia, next week, and about a dozen firms are expected to receive delivery orders based on evaluations conducted by military personnel who will fly the UAS.
The DOD plans to buy 30,000 one-way attack drones during phase one.
“Each subsequent phase will increase the number of units purchased and decrease the maximum vendors receiving orders (from 12 vendors in Phase I to ~3-5 vendors in Phase IV). We anticipate the average price per unit will decrease as unit purchases spike,” according to prepared remarks from DOD officials Owen West and Travis Metz for a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that was scheduled for Thursday but postponed.
A source familiar suggested the hearing was postponed because it conflicted with a meeting of Democrats on Capitol Hill. The source said the hearing will be rescheduled.
The prepared remarks for West and Metz were posted on a SASC website Thursday. By Friday morning, they had been taken down.
According to a preliminary price schedule published on a military website in December, the Pentagon anticipates spending $345 million and buying 150,000 drones in the final phase of the initiative, which is slated to run from August 2027 to January 2028.
West, who was recently tapped by the Trump administration to lead the Silicon Valley-headquartered Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), also has responsibilities as the Pentagon’s “senior advisor for drone dominance,” according to his job description in his prepared remarks and the SASC website.
Metz’s job title, according to the prepared remarks and the SASC website, is “Drone Dominance Program Manager.” Last week, the Pentagon would only confirm that Metz was an “advisor” for DIU, which is playing a leading role in the initiative.
Both West and Metz were also reportedly involved in the Trump administration’s DOGE cost-cutting efforts last year.
Their prepared remarks for the postponed SASC hearing noted that the increased demand for small UAS, combined with a Pentagon preference for American-made systems, could strain the industrial base as the program unfolds. Department officials will also enforce compliance with National Defense Authorization Act provisions prohibiting the military use of covered items from foreign sources.
“The increase in demand for American-sourced components may also put a strain on these manufacturers and their sub-tier suppliers. Once illuminated, supply chain constraints will be addressed at the Department of War by Industrial Base Policy and the Office of Strategic Capital,” per the prepared remarks, which used a secondary name authorized by the Trump administration to refer to the Department of Defense.
For the first phase of the Drone Dominance Program, new entrants are being inspected to ensure NDAA compliance, the document noted.
Beginning in phase two, “the government expects to preclude buying any systems that utilize motors or battery systems from covered countries. This focus throughout the evaluation process will be to inspect new entrants, from Bills of Materials to capitalization stacks and physical components, to ensure NDAA compliance and a healthier domestic market,” according to the prepared remarks.
