Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2025
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by Ben Solis
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1 Comments
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As drones increasingly take center stage in military conflicts around the world, Trump Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is calling on the military to establish “U.S. drone dominance” – a move that could reshape the future of warfare.
“Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation,” Hegseth wrote in a recent memo. “Our adversaries collectively produce millions of cheap drones each year. While global military drone production skyrocketed over the last three years, the previous administration deployed red tape. U.S. units are not outfitted with the lethal small drones the modern battlefield requires.”
Drones, and in particular speedy lightweight drones, have played a decisive role in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. In one attack earlier this year, Russia launched 273 drones in one massive barrage. Ukrainian forces were only able to intercept and destroy 88, highlighting how these relatively cheap yet deadly devices have become an attractive alternative to traditional missiles.
Drones have even altered the basic structure of the modern battlefield, moving the front lines of each army further apart than ever before. Russian and Ukrainian military units now fight one another from distances of up to 30 miles away – even as the scale and precision of the destruction is larger than ever.
“Human soldiers are currently absent from the front lines in Ukraine,” one anonymous South Korean defense specialist told me. “Only drones and robots are engaged in combat there.” Those devices are used to target armed vehicles, military transports, and ammunition storage depots.
In some cases, Ukrainian forces have even used drones to guide Russian soldiers to safe locations to surrender their weapons. The Ukrainian military has also used its drones to intercept and eliminate the Russian military’s Iranian-built “Shahed” suicide drones and to drop land mines just ahead of motorized units, giving the enemy little time to react.
According to Britain’s 2025 Strategic Defence Review, drones now kill more people than traditional weapons in the Russia-Ukraine war. The 144-page document mentions drones 21 times and notes that “any conflict with a peer opponent… would likely see the U.K. and its allies confronting a military force capable of fielding newer weapons such as drones.”
Russia and Ukraine aren’t the only militaries experimenting with drone technology. During the most recent hostilities between Iran and Israel, Tehran deployed hundreds of drones. The Israeli Defense Force, meanwhile, has used a drone to eliminate at least one key Hamas leader.
Chinese military officials have taken notice of the potential of drones as well. A recent People’s Liberation Army publication highlighted the importance of drones in military operations and proposed innovations like adding side-mounted rocket boosters on drones to enable them to perform rapid acceleration and movements to evade anti-drone systems.
China already dominates the drone market thanks to its first-mover status in the industry and ironclad grip over the global supply of rare earth minerals used in drone batteries. While military figures are difficult to estimate, China controls about 90 percent of the commercial drone market. Just one Chinese company, DJI, produces an astonishing 70 percent of all commercial drones worldwide. As of 2022, the FBI was still reliant on DJI drones due to a lack of alternatives.
Taiwanese analyst Ke Zong-yuan told me that replacing low-cost drones like those produced by DJI is difficult because China’s advantages are embedded throughout the supply chain. However, Taiwan, which faces the same reality, may help find a solution.
Earlier this year, Taipei found that some components for its new Rui Yuan II drone were sourced from China. The drone has not yet gone into production, and the company must replace these parts with those from Taiwan’s independent supply chain for security reasons – potentially giving the United States an alternative supplier as well.
While currently smaller in scale, similar initiatives can expand with enough funding to meet U.S. and Western needs. Taiwan’s Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has expertise in developing supply chains for products made outside of China.
Hegseth’s memo fills in another piece of the puzzle. One noteworthy change Hegseth makes is how the military will now classify drones. For the first time, small, low-cost drones like those used in drone swarms will be classified as “consumable commodities,” similar to ammunition, as opposed to traditional aircraft. This will help speed up procurement and cut through red tape.
Specialists I spoke to for this column also said that President Donald Trump’s plans for a “Golden Dome,” a state-of-the-art aerial defense shield modeled after Israel’s Iron Dome, will include a “drone layer” consisting of drone swarms able to be deployed at a moment’s notice. Hegseth’s memo may expedite the development of this new technology.
Defense policy experts from Australia, Germany, Japan, and South Korea interviewed for this column praised Hegseth’s policy. One called it “Solomon’s wisdom” and agreed with the Defense Secretary’s analysis that it could allow the United States to “perform a technological leapfrog” on drone tech.
By prioritizing rapid production, independent supply chains, and battlefield-ready drone swarms, the U.S. can seize the strategic advantage before adversaries tighten their grip. If Hegseth’s “drone dominance” plan succeeds, it won’t just keep America in the fight — it will ensure the U.S. leads it.
Ben Solis is the pen name of an international affairs journalist, historian, and researcher.
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