The Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems (DRPM-UxS) has invested approximately $782 million this year and fielded more than 24,000 counter-unmanned aerial systems.
The systems establish a dense, multi-layered defensive shield to protect forces against adversary drone attacks.
The program provides U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) with combat-ready, mass-producible unmanned systems and counter-drone capabilities to provide operational commanders with immediate, cost-effective tactical lethality. This year, it also has fielded more than 100 unmanned surface vessels and unmanned underwater vessels, and more than 1,300 one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles.
“DRPM-UxS was established to cut through red tape and put lethal technology directly into the hands of our frontline troops,” Owen West, DRPM-UxS CEO, said. “The thousands of systems operating across CENTCOM this year are just the beginning. We will out-innovate, out-build, and out-adapt any adversary on the battlefield. The goal is to scale these capabilities across the Joint Force.”
DRPM-UxS is part of a restructuring of defense procurement that involves deploying modular software baselines and scaling commercial production lines. It also serves as the operational foundation for the Autonomous Warfare Command, a planned four-star functional combatant command scheduled to launch next October.
DRPM-UxS will continue to provide CENTCOM with low-cost, mass-producible unmanned and autonomous systems.