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NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The Pentagon's DOGE unit is leading efforts to overhaul the U.S. military drone program, including streamlining procurement, expand homegrown production, and acquire tens of thousands of cheap drones in the coming months, according to Pentagon officials and people with knowledge of the matter. Sign up here. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a comment request. In September, a Pentagon official said Replicator capabilities were being "transitioned to the appropriate end state users," according to the trade publication Defense Scoop. Reuters could not determine how the DOGE effort would impact the Replicator initiative. Trump has ordered the department to rename itself the Department of War, a change that will require action by Congress. DOGE, originally spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk, has cut billions of dollars of government programs, including many at the Pentagon, since Trump began his second term. The drone effort, a new task for the unit, is partly aimed at addressing the challenges of sourcing U.S.-made drone platforms. Most U.S.-made drones rely on Chinese components. DOGE officials have requested information on drones from across the Pentagon, including the Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force and the Defense Innovation Unit, seeking information about specifications, including weight and payload size, according to two of the people. The DOGE team is expected to submit a report to an executive committee in the Office of the Secretary of Defense by next week, according to a person with knowledge. One of the goals is to acquire at least 30,000 drones in the coming months before ramping up further, one of the people said. This would mark significant wins for U.S. drone companies that have been angling to supply the Pentagon with cheap drones. Companies such as Red Cat, Skydio and PDW, which sell quadcopter models to the Army, for prices ranging from low thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands, are well positioned to benefit. Venture-backed startup Neros recently signed a contract with the Marines for its low-cost drone. The DOGE drone team is being led by Owen West, a co-author of Hegseth's drone memo issued in July who joined DOGE earlier this year, according to three of the people. The former Marine and Goldman Sachs energy trader rejoined the military in 2017 as assistant secretary of defense overseeing special operations forces. West's LinkedIn profile states that he has been a financial analyst at the Department of Defense since February. West did not respond to a request for comment. Reporting by David Jeans; Editing by Joe Brock and Richard Chang Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab David Jeans is a space and defense correspondent for Reuters, based in New York. He covers the intersection of weapons, technology and national security, with a focus on the rise of venture-backed military startups and the Pentagon’s evolving relationship with Silicon Valley. Previously, he covered defense tech for Forbes. He's also the co-author of WONDER BOY: Tony Hsieh, Zappos and the Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley, named a Financial Times Best Business Book.
