![](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/768x768/public/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/24/a5856110-2ced-400e-9974-a3962806536f_2bd004b9.jpg?itok=k9y8ndKs&v=1716546574)
US starts delivering drones under programme aimed at China’s growing military
- The UAVs are part of Replicator initiative focused on overcoming advantages of the People’s Liberation Army
- Pentagon says the unmanned system will include drones used in Ukraine war, which are likely to be deployed in the Indo-Pacific region
Military news site Breaking Defence reported on Thursday that US deputy secretary of defence Kathleen Hicks said the unmanned system acquired under the Replicator initiative was delivered to the US military earlier this month.
“This shows that warfighter-centric innovation is not only possible; it’s producing real results,” the report quoted Hicks as saying.
“Even as we deliver systems, our end-to-end capability development process continues … the Replicator initiative is delivering capabilities at greater speed and scale while simultaneously burning down risk and alleviating systemic barriers across the department.”
Hicks, however, did not give details on the exact type and number of drones or where they were deployed.
“Replicator is meant to help us overcome the [People’s Republic of China’s] biggest advantage, which is mass. More ships. More missiles. More people,” Hicks said.
“We’ll counter the PLA’s mass with mass of our own, but ours will be harder to plan for, harder to hit, harder to beat. With smart people, smart concepts, and smart technology, our military will be more nimble, with uplift and urgency from the commercial sector.”
The initiative aims to field thousands of ADA2 systems – including uncrewed surface vehicles, uncrewed aerial systems and counter-uncrewed aerial systems – by August 2025.
![The Replicator initiative is intended to help the US take on the Chinese military’s “biggest advantage, which is mass”, according to deputy secretary of defence Kathleen Hicks, shown here speaking at the Pentagon in November. Photo: AP](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/24/8ef0e28e-e5ae-41bf-a09b-dbd8e54f653e_f7f86fa4.jpg)
Earlier this month, the Pentagon announced that the US Congress had approved US$500 million this financial year for the Replicator initiative, and the Department of Defence had requested an equal amount for the coming financial year beginning on October 1.
“This is a critical step in delivering the capabilities we need, at the scale and speed we need, to continue securing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said on May 6.
In a push for military modernisation, China has been a leading producer and exporter of UAVs in recent years, with investment into cutting-edge military technology.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) arms transfer database, China has exported more than 280 combat drones in the past decade – mainly the Wing-Loong I and II and the CH-3 and CH-4 to the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
Since December 2022, China has been building the world’s first dedicated drone carrier, mainly to host fixed-wing UAVs, according to a report based on analysis of satellite images.
![](https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/_next/static/media/wheel-on-gray.af4a55f9.gif)