The US Department of Defense has encountered problems in implementing the Replicator program, which was supposed to provide the military with thousands of unmanned air, sea, and ground systems by August 2025.
The project, launched in 2023 by then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, envisioned rapidly delivering cheap and autonomous drones to the U.S. Army to counter China's growing military capabilities.
According to The Wall Street Journal, some of the unmanned systems have proven unreliable, too expensive or not ready for use. Recent tests in California have seen drones fail to launch, steering equipment on unmanned boats fails, and software errors designed to identify objects have been reported.
Due to delays and technical issues, the Pentagon has handed over the program to the newly formed Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG) under Special Operations Command. The group is tasked with accelerating development and selecting the most suitable systems. The plan has less than two years left to implement.
Among the largest purchases under Replicator was the Switchblade 600 drone, which showed limited effectiveness in combat conditions in Ukraine. Experts pointed to its vulnerability to electronic warfare. At the same time, the manufacturer announced improvements to the model, but the US Army refused new versions due to the risk of delays.
Despite the difficulties, participants in the Replicator program note that it has accelerated the process of purchasing and testing new unmanned technologies, and has also created the basis for the further development of autonomous systems in the US military.
By the way, it was recently reported that the American company Lockheed Martin is developing a new unmanned aerial vehicle, Vectis, which can be a reconnaissance, strike UAV, and flying electronic warfare.