There’s a major obstacle to the Pentagon’s new effort to manufacture thousands of small drones: China dominates the market for consumer-drone parts. Two months ago, the Replicator effort sought to apply a Ukrainian program for military purposes in the Pacific, but the Pentagon can’t simply clone the Ukrainian program. Michael MacKay, national security advisor to Sen. Jodi Ernst, R-Iowa, said that the U.S. doesn’t have an industrial base to manufacture small drones at scale. Major defense contractors cautioned that Replicator drones could cost much more than anticipated by the Pentagon.
The United States and its allies can’t easily mimic Chinese manufacturer DJI’s Mavic drone which is popular on both sides of the Ukraine war. John Suding, the executive director of East Asia defense and government services at Boeing Defense, said that the drones that traditional defense contractors can supply may be a bit more expensive and specific than what many are currently envisioning.
Speaking at a Defense Writer’s Group event, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said that the Pentagon is looking for solutions in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit. Schuyler Moore, CENTCOM’s chief technology officer, said that the key to achieving the Replicator vision is to hand combatant commands a bigger role earlier on and even let operators build their own drones. Task Force 99, an innovation unit within Air Force Central Command, found a way to 3D print UAS in theater in 48 hours.
To pull off such feats, Moore said, combatant commands need professional innovators who are solely focused on rapid prototyping and scaling. She sounded an optimistic note about DOD’s goals for Replicator.