Army Ramps Up Production – Million Drone War Plan

The US Army just announced plans to purchase one million drones in the next three years, marking the most dramatic military procurement shift since World War II production ramp-ups.

Story Highlights

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll announced unprecedented plan to buy 1 million drones by 2028
Direct response to lessons learned from Russia-Ukraine conflict where cheap drones transformed warfare
Massive scale-up from current 50,000 annual purchases to over 300,000 per year
New SkyFoundry program launched to build domestic manufacturing partnerships
Focus on small, weaponized FPV drones rather than expensive traditional platforms

Ukraine’s $500 Drones Changed Everything

The numbers tell a stunning story. Ukrainian forces have used inexpensive consumer drones modified with explosives to destroy Russian tanks worth millions of dollars. These First Person View kamikaze drones, costing as little as $500, routinely take out $16 million main battle tanks. Army leadership watched this tactical revolution unfold and realized America was dangerously behind the curve in mass drone deployment.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered Army transformation in April 2025, mandating drone integration at division levels. The urgency became clear when military analysts calculated that Ukraine’s defensive success relied heavily on deploying thousands of these cheap, expendable aircraft daily. America’s traditional approach of fielding expensive, sophisticated drones suddenly looked antiquated.

From Fifty Thousand to One Million Annually

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll’s announcement represents a twenty-fold increase in drone procurement. The current annual purchase of 50,000 drones will explode to over 300,000 units yearly through 2028. This isn’t just about buying more equipment – it’s about fundamentally changing how America fights wars in the 21st century.

Major General John Reim at Picatinny Arsenal oversees the logistical challenge of integrating this massive drone fleet. Training centers across the military have already begun “drone crucible” exercises, teaching soldiers to operate swarms of small aircraft rather than individual high-value platforms. The learning curve is steep but essential for maintaining battlefield superiority.

Building America’s Drone Industrial Base

The SkyFoundry program launches public-private partnerships designed to rapidly scale domestic drone manufacturing. Driscoll emphasized the strategic importance: “We will know that in a moment of conflict, we will be able to activate a supply chain robust enough to manufacture however many drones we would need.” This isn’t just military procurement – it’s industrial policy designed to rebuild American manufacturing dominance in critical defense technologies.

The economic implications extend beyond defense contractors. Small technology firms, component suppliers, and manufacturers across the country stand to benefit from this massive investment. The program prioritizes American-made components and assembly, creating jobs while reducing dependence on foreign suppliers for critical military hardware.

The Counter-Drone Arms Race Accelerates

This drone surge triggers an inevitable response – the development of sophisticated counter-drone technologies. The Army simultaneously invests in high-energy lasers and electronic warfare systems designed to neutralize enemy drone swarms. The same conflicts that demonstrated drone effectiveness also revealed their vulnerabilities to jamming and directed energy weapons.

The tactical implications are staggering. Future battlefields may feature millions of small, autonomous aircraft operating in coordinated swarms. Traditional concepts of air superiority, ground combat, and logistics face fundamental challenges when every soldier potentially commands multiple flying weapons. America’s military doctrine undergoes its most significant transformation since the introduction of precision-guided munitions.