Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hosts a drone demonstration at the Pentagon, July 10, 2025. The event was hosted to portray the Secretary of Defense’s initiative of Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Isaac Llanez Delgado)

The Pentagon is creating a new position to oversee most of its unmanned and counter-unmanned programs, describing the role as a “single joint integrator” that would have responsibility for budgeting, program planning and determining when systems “are ready for mass production.” The new Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for unmanned offensive and defensive systems (DRPM-UxS) will report directly to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, with the initiative aimed at supporting efforts to “rapidly accelerate the development, procurement, and fielding at scale…