US Drone Industry Still Trails Ukraine as Pentagon Pushes American-Made Supply Chain

The Pentagon says the United States is still in the early stages of building a competitive domestic drone industry, even as it tightens requirements for military drones to use American-made components. Defense officials believe the effort will eventually create a stronger U.S. manufacturing base despite current production lagging far behind Ukraine.

Travis Metz, deputy director and chief operating officer of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), said Ukraine is expected to produce between 6 million and 7 million small first-person-view (FPV) attack drones this year, averaging about 500,000 units per month. By comparison, the Pentagon’s $1.1 billion Drone Dominance Program is expected to order just under 200,000 drones in total by February.

Metz acknowledged the gap but argued that establishing a domestic production base is the most difficult phase. Once the U.S. develops sufficient manufacturing capacity, scaling production should become significantly easier.

The Pentagon recently strengthened its supply chain rules by requiring military drones to be built with U.S.-made components. Updated guidance released on July 23 outlines the long-term objective of creating a fully domestic small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) supply chain. The stricter standards also prohibit the use of banned Chinese-made parts, including brushless motors and battery packs, in drones participating in the upcoming August testing program.

According to Metz, most drones purchased during the program’s earlier phase likely relied on Chinese-made motors, highlighting the challenge of replacing foreign components. He added that sourcing critical parts such as semiconductors remains one of the biggest obstacles facing U.S. manufacturers beyond the drone sector.

Despite these hurdles, Metz said he expects the United States to eventually become a global leader in drone production. He also revealed that all six Ukrainian drone companies invited to participate in next month’s “Gauntlet II” testing event at Fort Carson, Colorado, have either formed or are pursuing joint ventures with U.S. manufacturers.

Among them, F-Drones has partnered with Ohio-based Ukrainian Defense Drones, while General Cherry has entered a joint venture with New Hampshire-based Wilcox Industries. Metz said future Pentagon contracts will require participating Ukrainian firms to localize manufacturing in the United States, allowing American industry to benefit from Ukraine’s battlefield-tested drone technology while strengthening domestic production capacity.