The Pentagon should create a new combatant command focused exclusively on drones and robotics, lawmakers said in a major defense bill that cleared a key Senate committee Thursday.
The $1.15 trillion 2027 National Defense Authorization Act includes numerous provisions aimed at “reforming the Pentagon,” including steps to accelerate the adoption and purchase of low-cost munitions, among others. But one of the most notable items is the call for a new combatant command to oversee robotics and drone programs across the military.
It would significantly shift how the Defense Department approaches unmanned systems in the air, on land and in the water. It could help address critics’ concerns that current Pentagon drone programs are too disparate and scattered throughout the department. The theoretical command would likely focus on streamlining the acquisition process for massive numbers of small drones and then delivering those drones to troops.
In a fact sheet summarizing the legislation, the Senate Armed Services Committee said the bill “encourages the department to adopt the future of warfare by permitting the establishment of the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Combatant Command.”
The panel cleared the NDAA in an 18-9 vote on Thursday.
In a statement, committee Chairman Roger Wicker said the bill addresses the rapid proliferation of drones and autonomous weapons.
“The bill responds to the modern battlefield with thoughtful approaches on artificial intelligence, autonomous weapons, low-cost munitions, and cyber operations,” the Mississippi Republican said.
The U.S. currently has 11 combatant commands: Africa Command; Central Command; Cyber Command; European Command; Indo-Pacific Command; Northern Command; Southern Command; Space Command; Special Operations Command; Strategic Command; and Transportation Command.
Each one is responsible for directing and coordinating military operations in their specific area of responsibility. For example, CYBERCOM oversees and coordinates the American military’s global cyberspace operations, while CENTCOM oversees U.S. military activity in the Middle East, including the ongoing conflict with Iran.
A “Robotic and Autonomous Systems Combatant Command,” which reportedly would be led by a four-star general, could become a major clearinghouse for all of the Pentagon’s drone efforts. That may include the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance program, a push to buy hundreds of thousands of small attack drones by 2027. The program provides a stage for competing bids from industry suppliers to offer small, lethal and expendable drones manufactured through U.S.-based supply chains
It would also likely oversee the Pentagon’s counter-drone programs, such as the Joint Interagency Task Force 401, the primary body coordinating U.S. efforts to defend against small unmanned systems.
A combatant command could also help drive the push to build and deploy huge numbers of unmanned surface vessels, or drone boats. One such boat, the Corsair, a 24-foot autonomous surface vessel made by the Texas-based company Saronic, helped rescue two Army crew members whose AH-64 Apache helicopter was shot down by Iran near the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week.
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