US DoD to establish new task force to counter UAS
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the Secretary of the Army (SecArmy) to establish a new task force dedicated to countering uncrewed aerial systems (UAS).
Named Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF 401), the new team will consolidate expertise from various agencies to address threats posed by “hostile” UASs and reassert dominance over US airspace.
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The team will act as the “supported organisation” for the Department of Defense’s (DoD) efforts related to forensics, exploitation, and replication of counter-small UAS (C-sUAS).
On establishment of the new task force, the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-sUAS) Office (JCO) will be disestablished.
The director of the new task force will possess both acquisition and procurement authority and will be granted special hiring privileges to attract highly skilled personnel.
“We’re moving fast — cutting through bureaucracy, consolidating resources, and empowering this task force with the utmost authority to outpace our adversaries,” said Hegseth.
Furthermore, the JIATF 401 director is empowered to allocate “up to $50m in funding per effort for initiatives to C-sUAS”, a memo from Hegseth stated.
The memo also said, “the JIA TF 401 will have a sunset review at 36 months”.
JIATF 401 will operate under the oversight of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, ensuring rapid delivery of joint C-sUAS capabilities to US forces, neutralising enemy threats, and reinforcing sovereignty over domestic airspace.
In a video message released to the public, Hegseth said: “Our job here at the Pentagon — when you think about it — is to prepare for the threats of the future and build a force to match them, and defeat them, and outpace them.
“And there’s no doubt that the threats we face today from hostile drones grow by the day.”
As stated in the memo, resources from Replicator 2 will be integrated into JIATF 401, with funding being coordinated in conjunction with the Defense Innovation Unit.
The director of JIATF 401 must also present unfunded requirements for fiscal year 2026 to the comptroller for review within a 30-day window.
Replicator 2, initiated in September 2024, is an existing Pentagon programme aimed at expediting the acquisition and deployment of new counter-drone technologies.
In July 2025, the US DoD revised its procedures and eliminating bureaucratic hurdles to accelerate the distribution of economical, compact drones to military staff.
