Pentagon removes barriers for military drone deployment, redefining small unmanned aircraft as consumables while mandating drone combat simulations across military branches

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dropped a memo on July 10 that read like a heavy artillery blast against the Pentagon’s procurement paralysis. He rescinded the choke‑hold regs from 2021–22 that hamstrung drone purchases—especially those pesky rules banning Chinese‑component bird dogs—and handed combat units the green light to buy,