The Pentagon is set to select the initial candidates for its ‘Replicator’ drone program by mid-December.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) plans to select the initial candidates for its “Replicator” drone program by mid-December, as announced by Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks. This initiative, first revealed in August, aims to create an array of affordable, efficient, and disposable drones for the U.S. military, focusing on deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The selected drones will not be publicly disclosed for security reasons.

The “Replicator” program’s goal is to challenge the Chinese military in potential conflicts by rapidly manufacturing numerous drones. Details about the systems chosen will be kept confidential to protect the project’s integrity. Interestingly, the funding for the initial batch of drones is already included in the fiscal 2024 budget, with no additional funds required at this stage. The focus is on accelerating production and delivery.

Hicks mentioned that the program would select UAVs from small crafts already in Pentagon development or deployment, including those from companies like Teal, Skydio, AeroVironment, and Honeywell. The aim is to scale up existing drones for mass deployment, particularly in the Pacific, without significant new funding until 2025.

There have been some concerns raised by analysts and lawmakers about the program’s implementation and funding, but Hicks assured that additional funding might only be needed in fiscal year 2025. She emphasized that the strategy is to prioritize the initiative without compromising other critical defense systems and that the DoD is exploring options for including more nascent attritable systems under the “Replicator” umbrella, which could be ready for mass production within the next 18 to 20 months.