Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday ordered top Pentagon and military officials to launch a new initiative known as Replicator 2 that will focus on countering drones, following the first effort of the same name that aims to field thousands of cheap, autonomous weapon systems.
In a memo to senior Pentagon leaders, combatant commanders and other officials, Austin called for Replicator 2 to “tackle the warfighter priority of countering the threat” from small drones with the goal to protect critical installations and military assets from the weapons.
“The expectation is that Replicator 2 will assist with overcoming challenges we face in the areas of production capacity, technology innovation, authorities, policies, open system architecture and system integration, and force structure,” he wrote in the memo.
Austin directed Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Christopher Grady, to oversee the effort.
Austin added that both Hicks and Grady would propose a plan for Replicator 2 to Congress for the president’s budget request for fiscal year 2026, and that he wants “meaningfully improved” protection for critical assets within 24 months of congressional funding approval.
Replicator was first announced in August 2023 by Hicks, who pledged the Pentagon would field thousands of artificial intelligence (AI) drones and weapon systems by August 2025.
The initiative has been met with interest on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers have expressed support for the U.S. to field the systems that could help combat a larger Chinese military in the event of a conflict in the South China Sea.
But there have also been concerns about a lack of details for Replicator, how much funding is actually needed and whether progress is being made.
Hicks said she has held 40 briefings on Capitol Hill since many of those concerns were aired in October 2023, and touted the Pentagon’s progress on the program in a speech in August.
The Pentagon secured an initial $500 million for Replicator in the fiscal year 2024 government funding bill.
Doug Beck, director of the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, said at an August National Defense Industrial Association event that more than 500 companies have expressed interest in Replicator so far, with two tranches of systems selected and 30 prime contractors involved for hardware and software, though details are still being finalized.
The Pentagon announced earlier this year that the first tranche of systems includes uncrewed surface vehicles. uncrewed aerial systems and counter-uncrewed aerial systems, and, naming one company, said it would accelerate fielding of Switchblade-600 drones from defense contractor AeroVironment.
Austin said in his memo that the first phase of Replicator “helped ignite our efforts to scale autonomous systems across the force more generally.”
Updated: 5:32 p.m.