Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on July 10th released a memo titled Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance, declaring that “the Department’s bureaucratic gloves are coming off” and that small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS) will be treated as essential munitions, not boutique gadgets. The announcement arrived by quadcopter during a video recorded on the Pentagon lawn; Hegseth signed the memo on camera while Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” played in the background. He cast the directive as the Defense Department’s answer to President Donald Trump’s June 6th executive order calling for the United States to “accelerate drone commercialization” and dominate both military and civilian UAS markets.
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