The Pentagon announced on Tuesday a request for the rapid acquisition and deployment of more than 300,000 small assault drones that can be utilized in one-way missions. The goal is for these drones to be field-ready and for operators to be trained on their use within a mere two hours.

This ambitious project comes with a budget of $1 billion and aims to equip service members with these drones by 2028.

According to the Request for Information (RFI) document, the required drones must have the capacity to carry at least 4.4 pounds of explosives and be effective in both rural and urban warfare settings. These drones should be able to travel approximately six miles in open terrain and execute missions over distances of more than half a mile within urban areas.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth highlighted in a statement on social media that the military needs a cost-effective solution to counteract inexpensive drones without resorting to expensive missile systems. He emphasized the strategic shift towards deploying large numbers of these efficient attack drones.

“We plan to distribute tens of thousands of these small drones to our forces by 2026, and by 2027, we aim to have hundreds of thousands in use,” Hegseth stated. He also mentioned that this influx of new technology would alter combat strategies across all branches of the U.S. military.

While the RFI does not pinpoint a specific model for the drones, the description aligns with that of first-person view drones, which are typically designed as quadcopters.

The selection process for these drones will be competitive and structured in four phases, stretching from February to July of the following year. This process will include live demonstrations of the drones’ capabilities.

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In the initial phase, 12 companies will be tasked with producing 30,000 drones. The subsequent phases will aim to increase production numbers while reducing both the cost per unit and the number of vendors involved. Companies not initially chosen are still encouraged to participate in later rounds, as per the RFI details.

This initiative follows a sequence of steps by the Pentagon responding to an Executive Order issued by President Donald Trump on June 6, which called for an expansion of the U.S. drone industrial base and a broader integration of drone technology across federal agencies. This was further supported by a memo from Hegseth on July 10, 2025, outlining a strategy for the rapid procurement and integration of drones in all military branches.

Recent months have seen various measures to accelerate drone deployment in military operations. For instance, in September, U.S. Central Command established a task force dedicated to hastening drone delivery and maintenance to combat units. Additionally, last month, U.S. Army Northern Command launched a rapid response team to tackle drone threats to national military facilities, using a specialized ‘fly-away’ kit developed by Anduril Industries.

Moreover, the U.S. Special Operations Command has introduced an extensive 10-day training program for special warfare operatives. This course covers all facets of constructing and operating first-person view drones.