Task Force 401: Army to lead on countering small UAS tech, with buying power
The Army has been tapped to oversee the new shop and close up the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office it led.
By Ashley Roque on August 29, 2025 10:25 am
The Single Vehicle C-UAS Stryker makes sense for Brigade Combat Teams as it is common with the M-SHORAD Stryker shown here and requires fewer soldiers to operate. (Leonardo DRS.)
WASHINGTON — The US Army has been tasked with standing up a new Joint Interagency Task Force 401 that is expected to give it broader oversight over tech to counter small drones across the Defense Department and, potentially, further across the federal government, according to a new directive and a defense source.
“It’s a new unified team that’s going to bring together our best talent from all our agencies to counter these threats and restore control of our skies,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a video posted to X on Thursday, adding that the task force has been empowered “with the utmost authority to outpace our adversaries.”
In an Aug. 27 memo, Hegseth goes on to direct Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to close the service-led Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-sUAS) Office (JCO) that had been evaluating the weapons for the services but didn’t have the teeth to enforce purchase.
Instead, Hegseth told the Army to set up JIATF 401 to “better align authorities and resources to rapidly deliver Joint C-sUAS capabilities to America’s warfighters, defeat adversary threats, and promote sovereignty over national airspace.”
https://breakingdefense.com/2025/08/task-force-401-army-to-lead-on-countering-small-uas-tech-with-buying-power/
