Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems
Pentagon office directing all US military unmanned and autonomous systems programmes, created June 2026.
Pete Hegseth directed the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems on 30 September 2026 to lead Project Agincourt, the PATH to a four-star Autonomous Warfare Command, under chief executive Owen West.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026
Timeline for Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems
Hegseth plans a four-star drone command
Drones: Industry & DefenceBackground
Pete Hegseth created the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems with a memo signed on 29 June 2026. It reports directly to the Deputy Secretary and oversees every US military unmanned and autonomous programme.
Its portfolio includes Joint Interagency Task Force 401, the Pentagon's counter-drone task force, the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group and the unmanned systems work of the Defense Innovation Unit. The fiscal 2027 budget request raised the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group line to US$54.6bn.
Since 30 September 2026 the office has run Project Agincourt, which must deliver an Autonomous Warfare Command by 1 October 2027 if Congress writes the command into law. Its chief executive, Owen West, also directs the Defense Innovation Unit.
The office leads Project Agincourt
A Hegseth memo of 30 September 2026 put the office in charge of Project Agincourt, the preparation for an Autonomous Warfare Command. Owen West, head of the Defense Innovation Unit, became its chief executive, with Navy SEAL Senior Chief Max Strasiser as chief operating officer.
The assignment moves the office from overseeing programmes to designing a command. Pentagon memos give that command a target date of 1 October 2027, subject to Congress, with its own budget and buying powers on the model of US Special Operations Command. Hegseth called Drone Dominance and Joint Interagency Task Force 401, two efforts already inside the office's portfolio, a good start but not enough.