Pentagon Seeks $300 Million for First of Its Replicator Drones
- Among initial candidates is Switchblade 600 anti-armor drone
- Classified request indicates program to be kept largely secret
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The Pentagon has sent Congress a classified request to shift $300 million in funds to speed development and purchasing of its first Replicator drones, an effort to field thousands of pilotless aircraft to counter Chinese capabilities by August 2025.
This initial request to reprogram funding previously approved for other purposes, which must be approved by all four congressional defense committees, reflects the Defense Department’s determination to show unaccustomed agility in developing a new armada of air, sea and subsurface drones. The unmanned aircraft have become everyday weapons, from the war in Ukraine to the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.