In a major policy shift, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has launched a new initiative to “unleash” U.S. drone capabilities, aiming to equip every Army squad with small, one-way attack drones by 2026.

U.S. drone stocks are flying high after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he’s fully committed to “unleashing American drone dominance.” Hegseth confirmed plans of “rescinding restrictive policies” to boost manufacturing and accelerate the use of unmanned systems for military purposes in a video recorded at the Pentagon on Friday.

The defense secretary said he planned to boost production of drones, and supply combat units with more of them.

Donald Trump outright called his Pentagon chief the “Secretary of War” Friday while also seemingly believing Pete Hegseth actually appeared on Fox News to talk “about modern weapons and warfare” after the network aired a clip of the defense secretary’s announcement on the administration’s new drone strategy.

Under Hegseth's memo, DOD will approve hundreds of American products for purchase by the U.S. military to bolster the drone manufacturing base.

The memo directs the military services to create active duty formations by September, built for the sole purpose of scaling the use of drones across DOD.

Watch Pete Hegseth in an awkward drone video as he issues a new directive aimed at increasing the US’ arsenal of unmanned aerial systems, all while Metallica plays in the background. In a video posted to X on Thursday (10 July),

Pentagon removes barriers for military drone deployment, redefining small unmanned aircraft as consumables while mandating drone combat simulations across military branches

Drone manufacturers including AeroVironment and Kratos Defense jumped early Friday after the Department of Defense on Thursday announced a directive to "unleash U.S. military drone dominance."The DoD on Thursday detailed changes to the ways the Pentagon procures and implements drones for U.

The Pentagon wants more small, cheap, easily replaced drones in the hands of troops as quickly as possible, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he is cutting red tape to make that happen.