Pentagon creates new autonomy portfolio manager to oversee most unmanned systems

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum on Monday that creates a Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for autonomy (DRPM-UxS). The position will report to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg and will serve as the joint integrator for most unmanned and autonomous system programs across the Pentagon.

The new office will absorb all unmanned aerial system groups 1-3, all autonomous ground vehicles, and most unmanned surface vessels, except for the Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel program. Underwater unmanned vessels will be coordinated with Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, who oversees the submarine portfolio. Software related to autonomy, artificial intelligence and swarming, as well as existing departmental “marketplaces” for unmanned systems, will also fall under the DRPM-UxS.

The Defense Innovation Unit will act as the primary liaison with commercial industry for the portfolio, while the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group and Joint Interagency Task Force 401 will become deputy offices. JIATF-401, which currently focuses on counter-small unmanned aircraft systems, will expand its remit to counter all drone systems across domains.

"Adversaries collectively produce millions of unmanned systems each year across all Domains," Hegseth wrote in the memo. "While global military unmanned systems production has skyrocketed over the last three years, the United States has been slow to field these capabilities at scale. Drones and autonomous systems are the most consequential battlefield innovation of this generation. The [Pentagon] must move at the speed this moment demands."

Acquisition authority will be coordinated through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, who will support the DRPM-UxS in using streamlined processes to deliver capabilities more rapidly. No individual has yet been named to the position, and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment.

The DRPM model originated with the 2025 appointment of Gen. Michael Guetlein to lead the Pentagon’s Golden Dome initiative and has since been expanded to include separate managers for submarine and Air Force programs. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey said the structure is intended to cut through bureaucracy, noting that each DRPM role is tailored to its specific mission set.