Hegseth's corrected counter-drone memo tells officials to report delays to JIATF-401

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told senior Pentagon and military officials to log any delay or denial of their requests to use counter-drone systems as a risk of inaction and report it to Joint Interagency Task Force 401, DefenseScoop reports.

DefenseScoop viewed a corrected copy of the five-page memo, dated November 5, on Tuesday. It sets out policies to shorten the Defense Department's long approval process for buying and fielding weapons against unauthorised drones, and updates guidance Hegseth issued in late September.

JIATF-401, set up last year, coordinates counter-drone work across the department, other agencies and allies. The corrected version removes language about a Deputy General Counsel for DRPM Programs. Finished legal reviews now go through JIATF-401's legal adviser to the Office of the General Counsel.

A source familiar with the document confirmed it was authentic, DefenseScoop said, and Pentagon spokespeople did not immediately explain what prompted the change. “Small unmanned systems are the defining threat of our time,” Hegseth wrote.