COREY DICKSTEIN STARS AND STRIPES
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said Monday he would not tolerate sending soldiers into a modern conflict with decades-old weapons, using an expletive in a public speech to highlight his distaste for the service’s slow acquisition system. “No one can predict the next war, but we cannot wait — we cannot f------ wait to innovate until Americans are dying on the battlefield,” Driscoll said in his keynote speech Monday at the outset of the annual Association of the U.S. Army convention in Washington. “We must act now to enable our soldiers. Our window to change is right now, and we have a plan to do it.” The Army’s top civilian — an ex-Army officer, Iraq war veteran, lawyer and former venture capitalist — pledged to adopt a Silicon Valley-like approach to weapons and tech development and procurement. Driscoll demanded that Congress and arms developers must allow the Army to quickly adopt new technology in communications, artificial intelligence, drones and robotics outside of the traditional acquisition system that has proven slow and expensive.
The Army has long failed its soldiers, he said during his speech at the Army’s largest soldier development conference and trade convention, where manufacturers show off their latest gear and gadgets from rifles and tiny drones to helicopters and armored vehicles. Members of the United States Army Band, “Pershing’s Own,” perform during the opening ceremony of the AUSA convention Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) Driscoll spent part of Monday listening to small companies pitch their latest technology to Army leaders in a competition dubbed XTechDisrupt for a chance at a potential contract to supply the service their tech. But there’s also more soldiers can do themselves to improve their battlefield kits, he said. In some cases, soldiers can develop their own technology, like those in the 101st Airborne Division who have built their own 7-inch drone systems, known as “attritable battlefield enablers.” The tiny drones cost about $750 a piece, can travel about 2 kilometers and reach speeds approaching 90 mph, according to the Army.
“They are modular (and) you can swap components, make software updates, transition between attack, recon or defense,” Driscoll said. “Trained soldiers can assemble it in 20 minutes and then deliver it to the front lines — 100% soldier assembled.” Soldiers can also solve other costly problems on expensive platforms like UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, which manufacturers have long limited how much the service can repair on its own because of intellectual property rights agreements. Driscoll has pushed for Congress to remove such agreements and grant the service “right-to-repair” powers even in its most expensive legacy programs. Driscoll held up a small black and tan fin for a Black Hawk external fuel tank that soldiers 3D printed for about $3,000.
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