Pentagon Is Poised to Pick ‘Replicator’ Drones to Counter China

Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary of defense, during a virtual event on mineral supply chains in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. The U.S. will give $35 million to MP Materials Corp. to process heavy rare earth elements at a facility in Southern California as part of a bigger push to challenge foreign dominance in a critical field.

(Bloomberg) — The Pentagon is likely to decide by mid-December what drones will make up the initial phase of its new Replicator program intended to deploy thousands of pilotless aircraft in 2025 to counter China’s numeric superiority in weapons systems such as ships, according to the Defense Department’s No. 2 official.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said Tuesday that the choices may not be announced publicly “because part of the program’s intent is to create operational dilemmas for China” as to how best to counter the new capability.

“We will be very clear and transparent with Congress, but how we choose to speak about it in terms of the particular programs or projects that will be accelerated is to be determined,” including whether the details will be labeled “Controlled Unclassified Information” to limit public disclosure, Hicks told a breakfast of the Defense Writers Group.

Contractors whose drones are selected are likely to see millions of dollars in increased sales. One of the most highly classified programs that’s a Replicator candidate is an Air Force drone called Phoenix Ghost that’s manufactured by closely held AEVEX Aerospace of Solano Beach, California. The Pentagon describes Phoenix Ghost, which is in use by Ukraine in its war against Russia’s invasion, as a “tactical unmanned system.”

Earlier: Pentagon Pledges Thousands of US Drones to Counter China

Hicks, who is overseeing a congressionally mandated review about the extensive use of the “Controlled Unclassified Information” label, said “overall, the department does over-classify” using that designation and a separate one designed to limited distribution outside the US called “NOFORN,” or “Not Releasable To Foreign Nationals.”

The Defense Department has “been on a campaign to increase training” on the proper use of the CUI designation and is still preparing a briefing for Congress on what uses are appropriate,” she said, adding, “That’s what we owe back to Congress.”

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