The brief

Analyst view

• 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.

Technical approach

As reported

Multi-vendor approach

Open competition

Rather than building a single drone design, the program seeks drones from multiple manufacturers, competing on cost, capability and time to delivery.

Rapid production

Speed over perfection

The program prioritizes drones that can be built quickly and cheaply, accepting lower unit cost and performance to achieve scale.

Loitering design

One-way munitions

Most designs are loitering munitions (kamikaze drones) that fly to a target and detonate, rather than return to base.