U.S. Special Operations Command Urges Ability to Modify Proprietary Unmanned Systems Without Vendor Approval

U.S. special operations leaders expressed frustration Tuesday about manufacturers’ proprietary agreements that block them from making quick upgrades to military equipment. U.S.

Special Operations Command to modify its drones. Lt. Gen. U.S. Army Special Operations Command, told the Senate Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities on Tuesday that the military must wait for manufacturers to fix or upgrade equipment, leaving forces with outdated capabilities.

“The biggest challenge that we face, at least within the majority of our formations, is the inability of the operator at the edge to have the authority to tinker,” Ferguson said. Specifically, he was thinking of unmanned systems, mainly unmanned aerial systems. “We are bound right now to the actual vendor of that system that has the proprietary capability,” Ferguson told the subcommittee.

U.S. Special Operations Command personnel are currently bound to the actual vendor of the unmanned system that has the proprietary capability. Ferguson’s testimony highlighted how operators lack the authority to make even minor modifications without manufacturer involvement.

The frustration centers on the speed of technological change in unmanned aerial systems. While commercial and adversary technology advances rapidly, special operations units remain tethered to vendor-controlled repair and upgrade cycles that can take months. U.S.

Special operations leaders are looking for an ability for their people at the edge to have the right to repair. Such authority would allow operators in the field to adapt drones to emerging threats without waiting for vendor approval or delivery of updated systems. Ferguson’s remarks come as unmanned systems play an expanding role in special operations missions.