The Pentagon has announced a new anti-drone strategy after a series of attacks near U.S. military bases raised concerns about the lack of an action plan to combat the growing threat of unmanned aircraft.
Much of the strategy remains secret, but a new memo shows Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is introducing a new counter-drone countermeasures office (Joint Small Unmanned Aircraft Countermeasures Office) and a new fighter jet senior integration group within the Pentagon. He plans to do so.
The Pentagon also plans to begin work on a second replicator program, but it will be up to the incoming Trump administration to decide whether to fund it. The original Replicator initiative worked to deploy inexpensive and essential drones to thwart drone attacks by hostile groups in the Middle East and elsewhere.
The memo says the increased use of unmanned systems will reshape U.S. tactics as it makes it easier for adversaries to “observe, disrupt, and attack our military forces, potentially without attribution.” warned that it was necessary.
A drone was launched during a military exercise at an undisclosed location in Iran. (Handout via /Reuters Note Editor – This photo was provided by a third party)
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The plan will increase our understanding of enemy drones, launch offensive campaigns to thwart their ability to build such systems, improve “active and passive” defenses against such attacks, and develop counter-drone systems. It outlines a five-pronged approach to rapidly increasing production of drones and creating counter-drones. – Drones are focused on the top priority of future force development.
Over the past year, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have attacked western shipping lanes in the Red Sea using one-way small unmanned aircraft systems.
That has created treacherous waters along trade routes that typically carry about $1 trillion worth of goods, as well as aid to the war-torn peoples of Sudan and Yemen.
Some experts consider the US response insufficient to prevent the Houthis from inflicting billions of dollars worth of damage to the global economy.
Moreover, the cost of a U.S. response to such an attack is disproportionately high. The Houthi drones are estimated to cost about $2,000 each, while the U.S.-launched naval missiles have a yield of about $2 million each.
In September, the Houthis removed two U.S.-made Reaper drones, machines that cost about $30 million each, in one week.
Russia's war against Ukraine has also seen both sides launch deadly drone attacks.
“Unmanned systems pose an urgent and persistent threat to U.S. personnel, facilities, and assets overseas,” the Pentagon said in a statement announcing the strategy Thursday.
“By developing a unique strategy to counter unmanned systems, the Secretary and the Department are orienting themselves around a shared understanding of the challenge and a common approach to addressing it.”
The UJ-22 airborne (UkrJet) reconnaissance drone, purchased within the framework of the “The Army of Drones” program, is preparing for landing during a test flight in the Kiev region. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)
three American military personnel killed A drone attack in Jordan in January. Experts have warned that the United States lacks clear counter-drone procedures after 17 unmanned vehicles entered restricted airspace over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia in December last year.
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The mysterious drones swarmed for more than two weeks. Lacking standard procedures for such intrusions, Langley authorities didn't know what to do other than hover a 20-foot-long drone near the sensitive facility.
The Houthis shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone, like the one pictured here. (Isaac Brecken/Getty Images)
Langley is home to the nation's most important top-secret facility and the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet.
In October 2023, two months before the Langley incident, five drones flew over the Department of Energy's Nevada National Security Facility used for nuclear weapons testing. U.S. authorities also did not know who was behind the drone.
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Chinese surveillance balloon Crossed the US for a week before the Air Force shot it down off the coast last year.
In 2024, Air Force Plant 42 in California, where highly classified aerospace development is conducted, experienced frequent intrusions by unidentified drones, leading to flight restrictions around the facility.
