The Drone War Gets a Command

In a single week the Senate Armed Services Committee moved to create a four-star drone command, the Pentagon cleared its first counter-drone system for force-wide use, and Perennial Autonomy, whose interceptors have flown in Ukraine, won a counter-drone contract worth up to $500 million.

Within five days in June, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to create a four-star command built around drones, the Pentagon approved its first long-range autonomous counter-drone system for use across the force, and Perennial Autonomy, a venture-backed startup whose interceptors have flown in Ukraine, won a counter-drone contract worth up to $500 million. After three years of watching cheap drones reshape the war in Ukraine, the US government is writing that lesson into its acquisition rules and command structure.