Silicon Valley sounds alarm over drone warfare: ‘We would last less than two months’ in a struggle

Executives from leading defense technology companies warned Congress on Monday that the federal government’s process for acquiring and adopting new drones and software has put America at a major disadvantage. 

The executives, huddling with the House Armed Services Committee in Silicon Valley, warned that China is outperforming the U.S. in its production processes. 

Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar told lawmakers that America’s industrial base is not too small or too slow but that the federal government is unable to use everything the private sector has to offer.  

“It’s clear that we’re living through a pretty hot Cold War here,” Mr. Sankar said. “And unlike World War II, where America was the best at mass production, today our adversary is.”

The executives said they have learned lessons from Ukraine’s battle against Russia that have opened their eyes to America’s ability to combat a major foreign adversary. 

Ukraine has lost about 10,000 small intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drones per month, according to Skydio global government president W. Mark Valentine. 

“When I look at what they’re losing per month and what we currently have in our inventory, I think, ‘My goodness, we would last less than two months in a great power conflict,’” Mr. Valentine told lawmakers. “And I just personally think that’s unacceptable.”

Many of the small drones Ukraine relies on come from China, according to Mr. Valentine. 

The Skydio executive, whose company styles itself as America’s leading drone manufacturer, said those Chinese drones use software to prevent them from taking off in Ukraine. 

He said in written testimony that surveillance tech from Chinese companies empowers Russian forces to identify and target Ukrainian drone operators “within seconds.” Ukrainian drone operators work under immense pressure to install features that trick the drones into appearing to be in a different country so that they can be deployed. 

Mr. Valentine called for a surge of American drones into Ukraine, which he said would enhance the industry’s ability to meet requirements the U.S. would face in any coming conflict. 

The Department of Defense’s focus on requirements over problems it needs to solve has created a problem for acquiring top tech, said Shield AI co-founder Brandon Tseng. He urged the government to move from its current acquisition model to a problem-focused approach that evaluates results without dictating specific requirements. 

“Autonomy is funded at levels that lack credibility or seriousness largely because requirements writers don’t know how to write software requirements,” he told lawmakers. “And without a requirement, there is no budget, there is no program of record.”