US military shifts focus to drones, phasing out old helicopters
Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth announces a radical transformation of the US ground forces, which includes moving away from outdated systems and focusing on unmanned systems at the expense of helicopters, as reported by the Breaking Defense portal on Thursday. Older versions of Apache helicopters are to be phased out.
As Hegseth wrote in an internal memorandum published by the Breaking Defence portal, the changes to the largest branch of the US armed forces aim to create a "leaner, more lethal force." To achieve this, it must "transform at an accelerated pace by divesting outdated, redundant and inefficient programs, as well as restructuring headquarters and acquisition systems."
Among the changes mandated by Hegseth are equipping all divisions with unmanned systems, enabling "AI-based command and control," and increasing the use of 3d printers for equipment manufacturing, which military units are to be equipped with. Hegseth also wants to end acquiring "outdated systems," including surplus Humvee vehicles, obsolete Grey Eagle drones, and helicopters.
They want to increase the role of drones
The Pentagon Chief demands restructuring the assault helicopter formations and supplementing them with "cost-effective swarms of drones capable of overwhelming opponents." As Alex Miller, the chief technology officer on the US Army command staff, told journalists, this means getting rid of older versions of AH-64D Apache helicopters by the US. Breaking Defence notes that it is unclear whether they will be replaced with the latest AH-64E version.
As the portal quoted, US Army Commander Gen. Randy George said that retiring older helicopters "will actually increase operational readiness" due to the high maintenance costs of the AH-64D.
The US will also cease further purchases of Humvee and JLTV vehicles. They will also not procure the newly developed M10 Booker light tanks, the first units of which were delivered to the army last year.
