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Defence
ChinaMilitary

US starts delivering drones under programme aimed at China’s growing military

  • The UAVs are part of Replicator initiative focused on overcoming advantages of the People’s Liberation Army
  • Pentagon says the unmanned system will include drones used in Ukraine war, which are likely to be deployed in the Indo-Pacific region

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AeroVironment’s Switchblade 600 loitering munition is the only type of drone disclosed as being part of the initiative and is likely to be deployed in the Indo-Pacific region. Photo: AeroVironment
Seong Hyeon Choi
The US started delivering unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to its military earlier this month as part of its programme to counter China’s growing defence capabilities, a senior Pentagon official said.

Military news site Breaking Defence reported on Thursday that US deputy secretary of defence Kathleen Hicks said the unmanned system acquired under the Replicator initiative was delivered to the US military earlier this month.

“This shows that warfighter-centric innovation is not only possible; it’s producing real results,” the report quoted Hicks as saying.

“Even as we deliver systems, our end-to-end capability development process continues … the Replicator initiative is delivering capabilities at greater speed and scale while simultaneously burning down risk and alleviating systemic barriers across the department.”

Hicks, however, did not give details on the exact type and number of drones or where they were deployed.

Replicator, an initiative focused on fielding what it calls “all-domain attritable autonomous” (ADA2) systems, has remained in semi-secrecy. When Hicks first unveiled it in August last year, she cited countering China’s growing military as a key focus of the initiative.

“Replicator is meant to help us overcome the [People’s Republic of China’s] biggest advantage, which is mass. More ships. More missiles. More people,” Hicks said.

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