Hegseth's Drone Dominance Policy Needs Offshore Production Help

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In the early stages of drone warfare the explosive package strapped onto a quadcopter was often the warhead from a rocket-propelled grenade. More recently, specialized warheads are finding their way onto drones.

Short-range battlefield drones range from very simple machines with plastic bodies, cheap cameras and mass-produced electronics to improved platforms with better jam resistance, better explosive packages that can penetrate armor and, in some cases, computers that can lock onto a target and close in on it without the operator's guidance.

Longer range but still battlefield-worthy drones also play a role. The Russian ZALA Lancet has proven very effective against armor vehicles, air defense complexes and command centers. Priced at around $30,000 (compared with a few thousand for quadcopters), it is built with Western and Chinese electronics.

Lancet drone. Photo: Kalashnikov Concern

Hegseth was not clear on what drones he wants to see mass produced, what price points would be acceptable to the Pentagon or what the mix might be for effective battlefield operations. What he was clear on was that his directive is aimed at setting up American-manufactured, American-sourced drones as quickly as possible. This is music to the ears to American drone companies, which, presumably, will greatly benefit from new orders and lots of cash.

​Can we get there from where we are now, assuming that DOD will order thousands of cheap drones? A lot depends on the type of drones required (which is not clear), the cost of the components, the domestic supply chain (to the degree it exists), the ability to recruit and train workers and how the US-only drones compare with their competition.

Most of the world's cheap supply of drones and drone components is Asian, specifically Chinese. The Ukrainians and Russians rely, for cheap drones, on tens of thousands of Chinese parts, including

• motors,
• cameras,
• controllers,
• electronics and
• tablets or goggles.

Important Chinese drone makers include DJI (which has arounds 70% of the commercial drone market), EHang, Autel Robotics and Yuneec. DJI has a large US distributor network. The US government is currently considering whether to ban DJI from the US market, although that has not happened as yet and may wind up in significant litigation if a ban is put in place.

There are also lots of suppliers of drone components from China. For example, SunnySky manufactures very stable small electric engines for drones. The company SunnySky USA is owned by Zhongshan LangYu Model Company, Ltd, and all the motors are made in China. Another motor company EMAX also produces small motors for drones and distributes them in the USA. I have been unable to locate its Chinese parent company, but all the products are manufactured in China.

SUNNYSKY X2304-V3 1480KV outrunner brushless motor. Photo: SunnySky

What applies to the small motors for drones also is true of the onboard cameras, electronics and controllers for small drones: The majority of them for low cost drones are from China. As you climb the scale of sophistication, you find stabilized cameras, more sophisticated electronics (often with US-sourced components) and better operator hardware.