This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.
President Donald Trump and the Department of Defense have been aiming for the United States to lead in drone production, beginning with a June 2025 executive order to expedite domestic production, strengthen the supply chain and reduce reliance on foreign countries.
Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget could accelerate drone production and supply chain efforts to help the administration reach that goal.
The massive proposal calls for $53.6 billion for the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, including $16.9 billion to fund procurement of “unmanned systems across air, surface, subsurface, and ground domains from within the industrial base capacity,” according to the agency’s budget overview.
DOD also established the Autonomous Warfare Command under the U.S. Southern Command to support the White House’s national security priorities and efforts, according to the press release on April 21.
