A new U.S. initiative against drones

In August 2025, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the establishment of the JIATF-401 (Joint Interagency Task Force), aimed at countering threats related to the use of hostile drones. He entrusted the mission of creating the special team to the Secretary of the Army, whose goal was to „bring together the best specialists from across all agencies to counter these threats and restore control over U.S. airspace.”

More on the concept behind the creation of JIATF-401 can be found in an analysis by Editor Mateusz Multarzyński, in which the author took a detailed look at how the armies of individual NATO member countries deal with drones.

In May of this year, less than a year after the creation of the new task force dedicated to combating unmanned aerial systems, its operational capabilities were expanded to include key allied nations. „The Secretary of the Army and senior representatives from Australia, Poland, and the Republic of Korea recently signed agreements enabling each of these countries to procure C-UAS technology through the Joint Interagency Task Force 401 marketplace,” according to the U.S. Army website.

JIATF-401 is intended to make the procurement of state-of-the-art counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) by allies simpler and faster. How? Primarily through the possibility of placing joint orders and purchases, as well as removing bureaucratic barriers. „We understand that our allies and partners want to buy American-made counter-drone technologies. The JIATF-401 marketplace helps aggregate this demand, ensuring that our defense industrial base is ready to scale production and meet the growing needs of our coalition,” said JIATF-401 Director Brig. Gen. Matt Ross.

Poland, the Republic of Korea, and Australia are not the only U.S. allies involved in the activities of the Joint Interagency Task Force 401. Previously, the group included the United Kingdom (collaborating, among other things, on developing common data transmission standards for C-UAS systems) and Romania. The list of these countries is expected to expand further in the coming months.