We're approaching a new era of defense, one that will use AI-enabled military drones that can run without a human operator. And it's a huge source of U.S.
government funding that's set to benefit various companies. Unmanned systems — which refer to platforms across air, land, sea and space that function remotely or autonomously using AI or some other form of pre-programmed technology — are a growing focus for the U.S.
Department of Defense. That's due to increased global human conflicts, as well as the rise of AI technologies and ongoing security efforts in the Indo-Pacific region , according to BTIG vice president and analyst Andre Madrid. "The DoD is currently undergoing a generational transformation of its unmanned fleets .
.. Recent conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine, and the Middle East have proven the invaluable impact of unmanned systems, which extends well beyond just the aerial domain," Madrid said in a recent note, adding that there's still a funding focus on both high and low-tech systems.
According to BTIG, the DoD requested $5.3 billion in fiscal year 2025 for unmanned systems, most of which is directed at procurement programs. The firm forecasts the DoD's entire unmanned funding requests to grow at a 9.
5% compound annual growth rate through fiscal year 2029. Most of those requests are coming from just one program: the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, or CCA, program that's tucked within the Air Force's Next Generation Air Dominance initiative designed to ma.