The Pentagon has launched a sweeping new initiative to tackle what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called “the fastest-growing threat to American forces and airspace”: hostile drones. On August 28, Hegseth announced the creation of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF-401), a body designed to consolidate U.S. efforts against unmanned aerial systems while cutting through bureaucratic delays that have slowed the deployment of counter-drone technology.

“America will be the best at counter-UAS,” Hegseth declared in a video message. “We’re moving fast — cutting through bureaucracy, consolidating resources, and empowering this task force with the utmost authority to outpace our adversaries.”

The decision comes as drones continue to reshape modern warfare, with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza underscoring how $1,000 commercial quadcopters can wreak damage far beyond their cost, while U.S. troops in Europe and the Middle East report unauthorized overflights of bases.

Hostile drones — ranging from Iranian-made Shaheds used in Ukraine to modified commercial drones carrying explosives — have proven both cheap and devastating. Massed in swarms, they can overwhelm conventional defenses, slipping past radar and traditional missile systems designed for larger aircraft. The U.S. military has already fielded an array of technologies, from handheld jammers and lasers to specialized radars, but efforts have often been fragmented. JIATF-401 is meant to unify those efforts, centralizing procurement and accelerating the path from prototype to battlefield. The Pentagon order dissolves a previous counter-UAS office established under President Biden, replacing it with a group that has broader authority and a mandate to prioritize “speed over process.”

Washington’s move comes amid a global surge in counter-drone activity. In Europe, Sweden’s Saab recently unveiled Nimbrix, a low-cost, fire-and-forget anti-drone missile designed for mass production. Built with 3D-printed parts and off-the-shelf components, the system is pitched as a cost-effective solution against drone swarms. Meanwhile, Poland and the Baltic states have jointly urged the European Commission to boost funding for border surveillance and counter-drone technologies after repeated incursions of explosives-laden drones from Belarus and Ukraine. “Investing in security in Eastern Europe is of shared importance to the entire EU,” the five countries said in a joint letter. In Asia, Japan has proposed tripling its spending on unmanned systems to more than $2 billion, part of its broader “SHIELD” coastal defense plan. Facing Chinese assertiveness and possible conflict over Taiwan, Tokyo is exploring partnerships with Turkey and the U.S. to build a modern drone and counter-drone ecosystem.

While allies are experimenting with diverse approaches, the U.S. strategy rests on scale, speed, and integration. By creating JIATF-401, the Pentagon is betting that centralizing oversight will allow it to rapidly field countermeasures across all branches of the military. The task force will bring together talent from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and intelligence agencies to develop layered defenses. from electronic jamming to missile interceptors, that can operate at home, on deployed bases, and across combat zones. It is also tied to President Donald Trump’s push to expand U.S. drone manufacturing. Last month, Hegseth promoted new policies that reclassify one-way attack drones as expendable munitions, putting them in the same procurement category as grenades or bullets rather than aircraft. “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance,” he posted on X, emphasizing the dual track of mass drone production and counter-drone defenses.

Despite its urgency, the Pentagon has not disclosed how quickly JIATF-401 will be operational or how much funding it will receive. Analysts note that counter-drone defense remains a “cost-exchange dilemma”: adversaries can build or buy drones cheaply, while intercepting them often costs exponentially more. Still, the U.S. move is widely seen as setting the pace for NATO and other partners. As Europe races to secure its borders, Japan doubles down on coastal defenses, and companies like Saab push out cost-cutting innovations, Washington’s decision signals that drones are no longer a side issue in defense planning — they are the central threat shaping airpower in the 21st century.

“Make no mistake,” Hegseth said. “The United States will never be outmatched.”