An Air Force security forces member aims a DroneDefender at a small drone during an exercise at East Range Training Area, Hawaii, Feb. 11, 2025. The Defense Department's new Task Force 401 aims to speed up the provision of tools for personnel to deal with small drones. (Erica Webster/U.S. Air Force)
The U.S. military is stepping up the urgency in figuring out how it will counter the rapidly growing threat from small drones, which have become a centerpiece of modern warfare.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week directed the Army secretary to establish Joint Interagency Task Force 401, focused on delivering counter-drone technology to soldiers on the battlefield.
Although the U.S. has kept pace with adversaries when it comes to conventional warfare technology, dealing with small unmanned aircraft requires a new approach that prioritizes “speed over process,” Hegseth wrote in his order.
It dissolves an office established under former President Joe Biden to handle the issue and replaces it with a group that will have greater authority, according to a Pentagon statement Thursday.
“There’s no doubt that the threats we face today from hostile drones grow by the day,” Hegseth said in a Thursday video announcing the task force.
Counter-drone technology has become crucial to President Donald Trump’s defense strategy, with mass production of the aircraft by Iran and Russia allowing them to wreak havoc in Ukraine and attack American interests in the Middle East.
In addition, U.S. military bases in England and Germany have reported unauthorized drone flyovers.
A drone flies as a B-52H Stratofortress takes off at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., in 2023. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week ordered the creation of a task force to tackle the growing problem of small drones. (Evan Lichtenhan/U.S. Air Force)
The U.S. relies on a mix of sanctions, interdictions and emerging defense technologies to blunt the problem, but analysts say the military must move faster to stay ahead of the threat.
At the same time, Hegseth is pushing the Pentagon to ramp up its own supply of the aircraft.
Last month, speaking over the buzz of a small drone and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” he touted new policies meant to boost American drone manufacturing.
He also posted a video on X with the message “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance.”
Part of the push involves moving one-way attack drones into the same purchasing category as grenades and bullets, instead of classifying them as helicopters and planes.
The creation of Task Force 401 is meant to go hand in hand with those production strategies. “We’re moving fast — cutting through bureaucracy, consolidating resources, and empowering this task force with the utmost authority to outpace our adversaries,” Hegseth said.
Soldiers set up the Pulsar counter-drone radar and jammer at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, on June 19, 2025. A new Pentagon task force will be focused on delivering counter-drone technology to service members. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. soldiers assigned to the 89th Military Police Brigade receive training on using a Dronebuster from Jake Myers in El Centro, Calif., May 18, 2025. The Defense Department is establishing an interagency task force in an effort to counter small drones. (Owen Griffith/U.S. Army)
