The funding provided by the Big Beautiful Bill is ready to be used to mount an effective sprint to build combat power.
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) December 2, 2025
We call it Drone Dominance.
At the War Department, we are adopting new technologies with a "fight tonight" philosophy – so our warfighters have the… pic.twitter.com/F6UMLxmwB7
The Department of War announces the Drone Dominance Treasury - America's official $1 billion national reserve of small, lethal drones. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's directive is to rapidly build and maintain a strategic stockpile of low-cost, consumable drones that will arm every combat unit and secure U.S. dominance in the skies.
This Drone Treasury is designed with a clear acquisition strategy: steady demand signals to American manufacturers, leveraging private capital to drive down costs while dramatically increasing lethality across the force. By 2027, the Drone Dominance Treasury will hold over 200,000 drones capable of delivering lethal effects in the most contested battlefield environments.
The Drone Dominance Treasury is the United States' strategic stockpile of weaponized drones - a modern equivalent to historic national reserves, but purpose-built for 21st-century aerial dominance.
Funded at $1 billion and growing, the treasury is actively being filled through competitive procurement phases. Every drone procured becomes part of the permanent national reserve, ready for immediate deployment when needed.
This is not simply procurement - it is the deliberate construction of America's Drone Treasury. The Solana blockchain layer enables immutable, public on-chain representation of treasury holdings and additions, ensuring transparency and accessibility for all.
Each phase begins with a Gauntlet challenge and ends with delivery of production-quality systems directly into the national Drone Treasury. All systems are evaluated by military operators in realistic mission scenarios. The program anticipates four phases, with dates subject to change.
This is not a down-select process. Vendors that do not win early phases may still contribute to future treasury expansion.
December 17, 2025
Official Request for Solutions published
March 2026
Adding 30,000 one-way attack drones to the national reserve
Q2 2026
Expanded treasury growth phase
2027
Full strategic reserve of 200,000+ systems
The Drone Dominance Treasury welcomes contributions from the defense industrial base. Treasury updates and additions will be posted as new drones enter the national stockpile.
Access the NSTXL consortium portal for official treasury acquisition correspondence
View official Request for Solutions and treasury documentation
Official public rollout announcement forthcoming via government channels
March 29, 2026
Official announcement to the American people forthcoming soon via government social pages
Procurement target: 30,000 drones (March 2026)
Next milestone: March 15, 2026
Projected total: 200,000+ by 2027
On-chain representation: Solana blockchain
Essential information about the Drone Dominance Treasury, Gauntlet events, and participation.
Drone Dominance is the Secretary of War's $1.1 billion initiative to rapidly equip warfighters with thousands of low-cost, expendable, one-way attack drones. The program realizes the secretary's aims of overhauling military procurement by shifting from slow, multi-year processes to rapid, iterative, six-month cycles to secure a technological edge over our adversaries.
Gauntlet I will take place from Feb 17, 2026 – March 4, 2026.
Drone Dominance is sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of War. The Gauntlet test events are executed by the Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) and Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division. The US National Drone Association is supporting media and communications around the program.
The drones will be employed across the joint force.
After the official Request for Solutions was published in December 202 government personnel reviewed the submissions, and selected 25 vendors who met our criteria, including performance, and production maturity.
Yes, companies that do not participate in Gauntlet I will still have the opportunity to apply to participate in future gauntlets.
The event team, alongside operational warfighters, are evaluating the platforms.
Companies selected for Gauntlet I were awarded Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs).
No, this is an active source selection event. The event is closed to the public.
No, the event is closed to the public. Only vendors and designated test team members can attend.
No. To respect the competitive nature of the acquisition, media capture will be led by the event team and released only at the direction of the Office of the Secretary of War.
You can learn more about the specific platforms being tested by clicking on individual vendors (coming soon).
Gauntlet I focuses on small UAS and low-cost and attritable One-Way Attack (OWA) Drones. Later iterations may include additional categories as part of our goal of fielding armed, "ready for combat" systems to units.
The initial orders will be placed at the conclusion of Gauntlet I. Drone deliveries are expected to reach operational units 2.5 months after orders are placed.
We expect to host Gauntlet II in the second half of the year, more information will be shared once available.