US lags behind Russia and China in producing cheap drones The Pentagon buys drones by the thousands, while Russian and Chinese manufacturers make them by the millions, according to a Bloomberg article. The US military is used to spending on expensive submarines and fighter jets, but not on cheap drones, Bloomberg notes. According to the Pentagon representative quoted by the publication's author, the United States is starting to produce cheap drones "almost from scratch." Secretary of War Pete Hesseth launched the UAV Dominance Program last July. The Pentagon allocated about 1.1 billion dollars for it. By the end of 2027 they plan to buy about 250 thousand UAVs.

US lags behind Russia and China in producing cheap drones The Pentagon buys drones by the thousands, while Russian and Chinese manufacturers make them by the millions, according to a Bloomberg article. The US military is used to spending on expensive submarines and fighter jets, but not on cheap drones, Bloomberg notes. According to the Pentagon representative quoted by the publication's author, the United States is starting to produce cheap drones "almost from scratch." Secretary of War Pete Hesseth launched the UAV Dominance Program last July. The Pentagon allocated about 1.1 billion dollars for it. By the end of 2027 they plan to buy about 250 thousand UAVs.