Department of War Accelerates Counter-UAS Employment to Defend American Airspace Sovereignty

The Department of War today issued a memorandum to accelerate the lawful, safe, and effective employment of counter-unmanned aircraft systems (c-UAS) across the Department.

The memorandum, Accelerating Employment of Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems to Protect American Airspace Sovereignty, directs the Department of War to eliminate unnecessary barriers that delay c-UAS capabilities for forces, installations, and assets.

The policy requires approval authorities to treat delays as an operational risk; use relevant prior approvals, test data and risk mitigations to accelerate comparable decisions; and use interim, conditional, or time-bound approvals when testing supports low or manageable risk.

Any denial of requested c-UAS employment must be documented with a rationale and submitted to Joint Interagency Task Force-401 (JIATF-401). Every approval barrier must have a designated owner, timeline, and escalation path. If an approval authority does not act within 30 days, the requestor will notify the office of the Secretary of War.

The memorandum targets four barriers that have delayed fielding of c-UAS capabilities:

• Authorities to operate: Within 30 days, the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer, working with the DoW Chief Information Officer (CIO) and other Department organizations, will establish a single Department-wide c-UAS process to reduce approval timelines for tested and validated systems from months to days or weeks.
• Spectrum certification and frequency: The CIO will review the c-UAS spectrum-request process and recommend ways to accelerate approvals. The Department will support the Defense Innovation Unit's Project Spectrum Strike, an automated, AI-driven software to coordinate, authorize, and deconflict U.S. government radio spectrum use to incorporate c-UAS spectrum-management requirements.
• Weapons safety: Services will not repeat a weapons safety review for the same system, configuration and use case unless a material change creates a new risk. JIATF-401 will synchronize c-UAS weapons safety reviews with the Unmanned Systems Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager.
• Legal reviews: Required reviews for c-UAS weapons and weapon systems will be expedited, generally within 10 days after receipt of necessary information. Components will share completed reviews to support timely, consistent decisions.

The memorandum does not change existing 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.

To read the full memorandum, click here.