Drone Dominance Program by U.S. Department of War: status and timeline

Drone Dominance Program

Acquire 340,000 low-cost loitering munitions from multiple vendors by January 2028, enabling the US Army to field affordable, expendable drones at scale.

DeployStage 4 of 5

Gauntlet trials held Feb-Mar 2026; goal of 340,000 drones by Jan 2028

Updated Feb 2026Checked 11 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Target: 340,000 drones by January 2028

Gauntlet trials with 25 vendorsFeb 2026Complete.
Drone Dominance Program officially launchedFeb 2026Complete.
Initial procurement contracts awardedMar 2026Complete.
Target: 340,000 drones by January 2028Target Jan 2028Not yet reached.

Most important updates

U.S. Department of War launches Drone Dominance Program with 25-vendor trials, targeting 340,000 drones by 2028Feb 2026

Upcoming

Jan 2028Target: 340,000 drones by January 2028in about 64 weeks (next)

Current obstacles

Supply chain constraintsRamping production of 340,000 drones in 18 months strains suppliers of batteries, motors, sensors and avionics.
Vendor reliabilityMultiple vendors with varying experience and financial stability create risk of delivery delays or quality issues.
Operator training at scaleTraining thousands of drone operators across multiple systems and vendors is a major logistics challenge.

Physics limits

Trade-off: cost versus capabilityCheap drones sacrifice range, endurance and payload to keep unit cost low. Each mission may require many drones to achieve an effect.
Radio control rangeAffordable drones often lack satellite links, limiting operator control to line-of-sight or relay range.

How it works

3 parts

Competitive procurement

Multi-vendor selection

The program solicits designs from multiple vendors and awards contracts based on cost, performance, and production capacity.

Rapid manufacture

Production at scale

Winning vendors scale production to meet quarterly milestones, with target of 340,000 units by January 2028.

Integration and training

Fielding to units

Drones are distributed to Army units with training and support. Command-and-control systems integrate multiple vendor platforms.

Spec sheet

Spec	Drone Dominance Program
Program budget	$1.1 billion^R (reported)
Procurement phases	Four phases^R (reported)
Gauntlet trial participants	25 vendors^R (reported)
Target quantity by January 2028	340,000 drones^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

1 update

Feb 2026

Major: U.S. Department of War launches Drone Dominance Program with 25-vendor trials, targeting 340,000 drones by 2028PressCommercial

About U.S. Department of War

The team behind Drone Dominance Program

U.S. Department of War

US military procurement, drone program management

The U.S. Department of War manages military procurement and programs, including the Drone Dominance Program, a landmark initiative to buy cheap one-way attack drones from multiple vendors.

The Drone Dominance Program is a $1.1 billion initiative to procure low-cost loitering munitions from multiple vendors.
In February-March 2026, the program held Gauntlet trials with 25 vendors to evaluate drone designs and speed of production.
The goal is to acquire approximately 340,000 drones by January 2028, reflecting a shift toward affordable, expendable platforms.

Company profile →

Founded: 194779 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Government
Valuation: government
Works in: AviationMilitary drones & autonomy
Coverage: 1 program · 1 updatelatest 1 Feb 2026checked 11 Oct
Customers: US Army
Suppliers: Multiple drone vendors

Spec

Drone Dominance Program

Program budget

$1.1 billion^R (reported)

Procurement phases

Four phases^R (reported)

Gauntlet trial participants

25 vendors^R (reported)

Target quantity by January 2028

340,000 drones^R (reported)