Rethinking Acquisition to Unleash American Leadership in Uncrewed Systems

April 24, 2025

As the United States government deepens its investment in uncrewed systems, robotics, and autonomous technologies, our ability to compete and lead will hinge not just on what we build — but how, and how much, we buy.

Today, the greatest bottleneck in drone adoption is the pace, flexibility, and funding of government acquisition. Last year, across all of the Department of Defense (DoD), fewer than 4,000 drones were purchased. The Navy purchased around 300 small autonomous boats. These numbers are not encouraging. At a time when adversaries are deploying unmanned systems at scale — millions are being used in the war between Ukraine and Russia — and advancing rapidly evolving operational concepts around them, the United States simply cannot afford to continue falling further behind.

Our warfighters need more tools, faster — not just to match adversary capabilities, but to build our own warfighter’s operational familiarity, concepts of operation (CONOPS), and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) essential for success. Yet the traditional acquisition system, designed for complex weapons platforms developed over decades, struggles to keep pace with technologies that evolve in rapid cycles.

Solutions exist, but they must be embraced. Alternative acquisition pathways like Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs) and Commercial Solutions Openings (CSOs) allow for faster, more flexible procurement — yet they remain underutilized. Program officers, contracting officials, and acquisition professionals must be incentivized to lean into these acquisition models for advanced technologies rather than relying on the slow-moving, risk-averse traditional requirements process. Pursuit of speed and innovation must be rewarded, not penalized.

Culturally, the acquisition enterprise needs a shift: speed, agility, and initiative must become as valued as procedural compliance. Leaning forward to bring technologies to the warfighter with much greater speed must be recognized as a marker of success, not a liability.

Investment is equally critical. The United States should commit to a baseline of at least $1 billion annually for small drone acquisition for the DoD and many billions more for other autonomous platforms across the air, ground, and maritime domains. This is not a wish list — it is a strategic necessity if we are serious about keeping pace with peer and near-peer competitors and preparing our forces for the autonomy-driven conflicts of tomorrow. We need thousands of autonomous systems in the hands of warfighters now, building comfort, trust, and TTPs so that if, or when the “balloon goes up,” we are prepared to utilize these effective tools immediately and not learning and developing tactics for the first time on the battlefield.

To secure future battlefield dominance, the United States must move with urgency, clarity, and conviction. This means overhauling the way we acquire autonomous systems – embracing speed, rewarding innovation, and funding at scale. Our adversaries are not waiting, and neither can we. By shifting the culture of acquisition, leaning into agile procurement pathways, and making bold, sustained investments, we can equip our warfighters with the tools they need – not years from now, but starting now with budget reconciliation and in the FY2026 budget. The time for incrementalism has passed; the era of autonomy demands decisive action and investment.