Joint Interagency Task Force 401

Big move out of the Pentagon this week.

Secretary Hegseth just ordered the creation of

: a new unit focused solely on accelerating counter-drone capabilities across the U.S. military.

It’s a smart call. We’ve needed a single team with the authority, budget, and mandate to get ahead of the drone threat. But there’s another piece buried in the order that matters just as much:

Stand up a dedicated C-UAS test and training range within 30 days.

Secretary of War reviews counter drone equipment.

This is long overdue.

Right now, testing autonomous defense systems in the U.S. is slow, overly restricted, and hard to scale. If we want to build effective systems, we need the space to test them against real targets, in real conditions.

A few concrete things that need to happen:

- A large, accessible C-UAS test range, not just for DoD, but for trusted partners in industry

- A path to test live fire and autonomy outside narrow windows

- Flexibility to iterate without months of paperwork

One range probably won’t cut it. We should be thinking in terms of a network – public and private – where real systems can be tested and improved at speed.

Props to Secretary Pete Hegseth and the team for making the call. JIATF 401 is a step in the right direction. But to get real capability in the field, we need more than plans—we need places to build and prove them.

And if you’re looking for open skies and fast movement, you know where to go.

Fulmen Defense is Ready