[Discussion] Pentagon Creates Autonomy Chief to Centralize Drone Programs

Pentagon creates autonomy portfolio manager

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signed a memo creating a new Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for autonomy, known as DRPM-UxS, to oversee most Pentagon drone and autonomous systems efforts. The position will report directly to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg.

The memo describes the office as “the single joint integrator for all unmanned and autonomous system programs” within the department. It centralizes a large share of work now managed at the service level, covering all autonomous ground vehicles, all small unmanned aircraft, and most unmanned maritime programs.

Hegseth wrote that rival nations are collectively producing millions of unmanned systems each year while the United States has been slow to field similar capabilities at scale. He called drones and autonomous systems “the most consequential battlefield innovation of this generation.”

What falls under the new office

Under the memo, the DRPM-UxS portfolio includes:

• all Group 1-3 unmanned aircraft systems

• all autonomous ground vehicles

• all unmanned surface vessels except the Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel program

• unmanned autonomy, artificial intelligence, and swarming software programs

• existing department “marketplaces” for unmanned systems

Large unmanned aircraft programs are excluded, including the Collaborative Combat Aircraft effort.

For underwater unmanned vessels, the new office will work “in coordination” with Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, who already serves as the Pentagon’s submarine DRPM and controls part of that portfolio.

Acquisition authority and organization

The memo gives the DRPM-UxS priority on acquisition matters related to unmanned and autonomous systems, second only to the secretary and deputy secretary. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, acting as the Defense Acquisition Executive, is directed to support the office’s use of acquisition authorities, including streamlined pathways intended to speed delivery.

The Defense Innovation Unit will serve as the main interface with commercial industry for programs within the DRPM-UxS portfolio.

Two existing organizations will move under the new structure as deputy offices:

• the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group

• Joint Interagency Task Force 401

JIATF-401 currently leads counter-small unmanned aircraft efforts. Its mission will expand to countering drone systems across all domains. The memo says this change will not alter the current organizational placement of JIATF-401 and DAWG personnel or billets.

Leadership and timing

The memo does not name the official who will fill the DRPM-UxS role, and it gives no deadline for the appointment.

The Pentagon later released the memo publicly after it was initially reported from an internal copy.

Broader restructuring context

The DRPM model began after Gen. Michael Guetlein was appointed to lead the Golden Dome initiative in July 2025. It has since expanded to other portfolios, including Gaucher’s submarine role and Gen. Dale White’s oversight of several major Air Force programs, including the B-21 bomber, F-47 fighter, and Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile.

Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey said in December that the purpose of the DRPM approach is to cut through bureaucracy, though he also said the positions are not designed as identical templates. The effect of the new autonomy office on existing service-level management structures remains unclear. The Army, for example, recently reorganized its acquisition system and placed autonomy under its Maneuver Air portfolio.

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