Hegseth Counter-UAS Memo Puts 30-Day Clock on Drone Defense Approvals

The Department of War (DoW) on October 2, 2026, released a counter-UAS memo, signed by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on September 28, ordering its components to remove approval barriers that delay counter-unmanned aircraft systems (c-UAS) from reaching forces, installations, and assets. The policy puts a 30-day clock on stalled decisions, requires written justification for every denial, and targets four certification chokepoints.

The memo, Accelerating Employment of Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems to Protect American Airspace Sovereignty, closes the first year of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF-401), which Hegseth directed the Army to establish on August 27, 2025. The commander of U.S. Northern Command told lawmakers in 2025 that installations logged 350 drone detections across 100 sites in 2024. The department has since widened commanders’ defensive perimeters under 10 U.S.C. § 130i and, on September 29, 2026, announced 10 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) awards supporting the Domestic Shield program, with a collective ceiling of $4.15 billion. The new policy targets what sits between purchase and protection: permission to switch systems on.

Inside the Counter-UAS Memo: Four Approval Barriers Targeted

The policy instructs approval authorities to treat delay as an operational risk. They must apply relevant prior approvals, test data, and risk mitigations to comparable decisions, and grant interim, conditional, or time-bound approvals when testing supports low or manageable risk. Every barrier must have a designated owner, timeline, and escalation path. Denials go to JIATF-401 with a documented rationale, and if an authority fails to act within 30 days, the requestor notifies the Office of the Secretary of War.

The first target is the authority to operate (ATO), the cybersecurity accreditation a networked system needs before it connects to department infrastructure. Within 30 days, the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO), working with the DoW Chief Information Officer (CIO), must establish a single department-wide c-UAS process that cuts ATO timelines for tested and validated systems from months to days or weeks. The stakes are concrete: layered c-UAS architectures fuse radar, radio frequency (RF) detection, electro-optical/infrared sensors, and command-and-control software, and each new sensor-effector pairing can trigger fresh accreditation.

The second target is spectrum certification. RF jammers, protocol-takeover tools, and active radars require frequency authorization before they emit, a constraint that bites hardest in congested domestic spectrum near airports and cities. The CIO will review the c-UAS spectrum-request process and recommend faster approvals, while the department folds c-UAS requirements into the Defense Innovation Unit’s Project Spectrum Strike, an automated, AI-driven tool to coordinate, authorize, and deconflict U.S. government spectrum use. Industry participants put current military spectrum authorizations at 75 to 180 days.

How the Memo Compresses C-UAS Weapons Safety and Legal Reviews

The third target is weapons safety. Services may no longer repeat a safety review for the same system, configuration, and use case unless a material change creates new risk. JIATF-401 will synchronize these reviews with the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems (DRPM-UxS), the office created by a June 29, 2026, memo to consolidate drone and counter-drone programs under the Deputy Secretary of War. The pairing carries weight: the DRPM-UxS holds milestone decision authority over a portfolio that explicitly covers counter-unmanned systems and the department’s c-UAS marketplaces.

The fourth target is the legal review required for weapons and weapon systems. C-UAS reviews will be expedited, generally within 10 days of receiving the necessary information, and components will share completed reviews to keep decisions consistent. Reciprocity runs through all four measures. The same logic drives a memorandum of understanding between JIATF-401 and the National Nuclear Security Administration, announced September 29, 2026, to share c-UAS test data and reduce duplicative testing.

Inventory scale explains the urgency. JIATF-401’s 2026 Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Quick Reference Guide, published September 8, 2026, catalogs 37 systems in service use, spanning fixed-site, mounted, handheld, and interceptor solutions. The September IDIQ awards brought in vendors including DroneShield, Echodyne, SRC Inc., RADA Technologies, SmartShooter, and L3Harris WESCAM, with individual ceilings from $150 million to $500 million. Absent reform, each new configuration would clear the same four gates service by service.

The memo sets firm limits. It does not change policies or procedures governing operational c-UAS use, including activities under 10 U.S.C. § 130i, and does not authorize violations of law or compromises to public or service member safety.

Analysis: The binding constraint on homeland drone defense has shifted from funding to permission. With $4.15 billion in IDIQ ceiling awarded, a $7 billion target, and a single portfolio manager holding acquisition authority, the department can buy faster than its certification chain can clear equipment. By forcing reciprocity and making denial costly, the policy moves the burden of proof from the requesting unit to the approving authority. Its reach ends at the department’s boundary, however. Federal frequency assignments run through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and domestic engagements still depend on coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration and law enforcement partners the memo does not bind.

The first deliverable is the CDAO’s single ATO process, due within 30 days, which points to late October 2026 if the clock runs from the memo’s September 28 date. JIATF-401 officials expect additional IDIQ awards to reach the full $7 billion ceiling by the end of October, though only $50 million had been obligated at announcement. The CIO’s spectrum review is reportedly due on the same 30-day timeline, a deadline the department’s public summary does not mention. The department has not said whether it will publish data on approval timelines or denials logged with JIATF-401.