‘Disorganized and confusing’: Lawmakers, industry rip Pentagon plans for drones
Critics say they want more specifics on DOD’s Replicator program — including how they plan to pay for it.
By MATT BERG
12/17/2023 07:00 AM EST
In August, the Pentagon announced an ambitious, two-year plan to develop thousands of drones to swarm and overwhelm China’s much larger arsenal of weapons — and do it cheaply.
Four months later, no one seems to be able to explain the plan or how the Pentagon will pay for it.
Frustrations over that lack of clarity came to a head on Tuesday, when nine leaders from tech companies and several high-ranking DOD officials, including Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, gathered for a meeting about the program at the Defense Innovation Unit base in Mountain View, California. POLITICO spoke to three people who attended the meeting.
“It’s just very disorganized and confusing,” said a tech company executive, who like others was granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting. The problem with the initiative is that it’s “not actually associated with any dollars to make things happen.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/17/pentagon-drones-replicator-program-funding-00132092
