Hegseth issues new directive to hasten U.S. military’s counter-drone pursuits
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum that was publicly released on Friday with updated policies to expedite counter-drone technology deployments across U.S. military bases, critical infrastructure, and other domestic assets, as unmanned systems continue to disrupt national security and transform global warfare.
The five-page directive, dated Sept. 28, targets specific administrative and procedural bottlenecks that have historically slowed the Defense Department’s counter-drone hardware and software adoption — like radio spectrum and frequency authorization delays and often arduous safety review processes.
“The Department will take down barriers so our warfighters can take down drones,” Hegseth wrote.
Notably, this new policy requires review and approval authorities to treat any delays in handling requests associated with DOD’s counter-drone needs as operational risks.
Hegseth’s memo appears to serve as an enforcement mechanism for Joint Interagency Task Force 401, which he previously launched to lead the Pentagon’s high-priority counter-drone initiatives.
The secretary said the task force will be the department’s “synchronization point” for counter-unmanned aerial system employment, in coordination with the military services, combatant commands, department components and interagency partners.
“JIATF-401 will serve as a repository for technical data, common hazard assessments, approved mitigation measures, and threat intelligence” in all C-UAS weapon safety reviews, Hegseth wrote.
In response to questions from DefenseScoop on Friday, Army Lt. Col. Adam Scher, JIATF-401’s spokesperson, said the task force “is taking aggressive action to streamline bureaucratic approvals and remove barriers that delay lawful, safe, and effective counter-drone operations.”
Under Hegseth’s new directive, he said, JIATF-401 will continue to track and eliminate enterprise barriers to ensure the U.S. military has modern counter-UAS tools needed to defend the nation.
“We know that C-UAS capability is more than hardware; it requires the right training, policies, and permissions to empower our warfighters to protect themselves and critical infrastructure from the illicit use of drones. This memorandum directly supports that vision by treating administrative delay as risk and accelerating the integration of critical C-UAS capabilities,” Scher told DefenseScoop. “JIATF-401 will not accept a slow-moving bureaucracy when faced with a fast-moving threat.”
Among other instructions in Friday’s memo, Hegseth also directed the DOD’s chief information officer to review within 30 days the process by which the department’s components “submit C-UAS spectrum requests to interdepartmental spectrum authorities and provide recommendations to accelerate spectrum approval.”
The secretary said the CIO will also support the Defense Innovation Unit’s “Project Spectrum Strike” work by incorporating C-UAS spectrum management requirements into the associated solution selections.
Per the memo, the DOD’s chief digital and AI officer will also coordinate with the CIO, Office of General Counsel, Defense Information Systems Agency, U.S. Cyber Command, the military services and components to establish a single, department-wide approval process to cut authority to operate (ATO) timelines down from months to just days or weeks for tested, validated systems.
“Protection against the threat of drones will not be delayed by self-imposed restrictions,” Hegseth wrote.
Pentagon spokespersons did not respond to DefenseScoop’s request for comments by publication.
