A new Army-led task force will work to address the growing threat of hostile drones at home and overseas.

In a memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is directed to stand up the joint, interagency task force. Known as Joint Interagency Task Force 401, or JTIAF 401, the organization will tackle the growing threat of hostile unmanned aerial systems and work to enhance the Defense Department’s own small unmanned systems to protect personnel, equipment and facilities, according to a DoD news release.

The Aug. 27 memo directs the Army secretary to provide within 30 days an implementation plan that must include the required resources, structure and authorities the joint task force will need to execute “at speed and scale.”

Emphasizing the fact that hostile drones are being operated overseas as well as in the U.S. with the intent of harming U.S. warfighters, bases and U.S. national airspace, Hegseth said in the news release that the new task force will be a “unified team that will bring together our best talent from all agencies to counter these threats and restore control of our skies.”

Led by the Army, the task force will report to the deputy secretary of defense to “better align authorities and resources to rapidly deliver [joint counter small unmanned aerial systems] capabilities to America’s warfighters, defeat adversary threats and promote sovereignty over national airspace,” according to the news release.

“My priorities for transformation and acquisition reform include improving C-sUAS mobility and affordability and integrating capabilities into warfighter formations,” Hegseth said in the memo, emphasizing that “DoD must focus on speed over process” by disestablishing the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office established in 2020 and replacing it with the new task force.