Proposal to Create a U.S. Army Drone Corps

Proposal to Create a U.S. Army Drone Corps

INSIGHTi

Proposal to Create a U.S. Army Drone Corps
June 18, 2024
Introduction
A provision of the House-passed H.R. 8070, the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, would establish the “Drone Corps” as a basic
branch of the U.S. Army, one responsible for small and medium uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and
defensive counter-UAS. If the House provision is adopted in law, Congress would be responsible for the
oversight and funding of this new branch of the Army. This product provides a background on the Army’s
basic branches, as well as a discussion of the proposed legislation and potential considerations for
Congress.
What is a Basic Branch of the Army?
The U.S. Army organizes its members according to their roles and abilities and to authorities prescribed
by Congress. Basic branches consist of career fields in the combat, combat support, and services support
roles; these include the infantry, aviation, military intelligence, and ordnance branches, among others.
Special branches are comprised of personnel with professional qualifications in medicine, law, or religion.
The Continental Congress authorized the establishment of five separate departments—later, basic
branches—of the Army in June 1775. In time, Congress added new departments like the Signal Corps and
Chemical Corps.
The Army Organization Act of 1950 (P.L. 81-581) consolidated the changes made to the Army prior to
and during the Second World War. Under Section 306 of the Act, codified as Title 10, Section 7063 and
Section 7064 of the United States Code (U.S.C.), Congress established 12 basic branches and formalized
the distinction between basic and special branches. Congress also authorized the Secretary of the Army to
assign its members to “such other basic branches as the Secretary considers necessary.”
Since 1950, the Army has used its authority under 10 U.S.C. §7063(a) to establish seven new basic
branches, as well as divide artillery into two branches, Air Defense Artillery and Field Artillery, bringing
the total to 20 basic branches. The Army last established a new basic branch, the Cyber Branch, in 2014.
Existing authorities notwithstanding, Congress has on at least one other occasion since 1950 sought to
establish a basic branch. Under Section 582 of the Fiscal Year 2018 (FY2018) National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) (P.L. 115-91), Congress would have established the Explosive Ordnance
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Disposal Corps as a basic branch had the Army not submitted a report to Congress on the matter. In the
FY2021 NDAA (P.L. 116-283), Congress extended the Army’s deadline to submit the report to October 1,
2025.
A military occupational specialty (MOS) signifies the career path of Army enlisted and warrant officer
personnel. In most cases, an MOS corresponds to a basic branch. Personnel responsible for operating and
maintaining medium and large UAS belong to the MOS 15 series, the Aviation Branch. Army personnel
responsible for counter-UAS systems typically belong to the MOS 14 series, the Air Defense Artillery
Branch. To date, the Army has not established an MOS for counter-UAS, and Army doctrine states that
countering drones is “not a stand-alone effort or the sole responsibility” of any branch. Neither small
drones nor handheld counter-UAS systems are branch- or MOS-specific; instead, the Army treats these
systems as individual or crew-served “weapons” much like machine guns.
Proposed Legislation
Section 924 of H.R. 8070 would amend 10 U.S.C. §7063(a) to establish the Drone Corps as a basic
branch of the Army. The House bill would further amend 10 U.S.C. Chapter 707 to insert under the
heading §7082 a description of the organization and function of the Drone Corps. The proposed Drone
Corps would be responsible for overseeing “programs, projects, and activities” involving the Army’s
small and medium UAS and counter-UAS systems, as well as for recruiting and training personnel,
among other tasks.
The House bill defines small UAS as those with a gross takeoff weight of less than 55 pounds and
medium UAS as those weighing between 55 and 1,320 pounds, definitions that correspond to Groups 1-2
and Group 3, respectively, of the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) UAS classification. The House bill
does not cover large UAS, those in Groups 4-5, which are currently an Aviation Branch responsibility.
Discussion
Both the Army’s small and medium UAS and counter-UAS capabilities are in states of transition. The
Army’s UAS Project Office is developing requirements for new classes of small drones in Groups 1-2
(see CRS In Focus IF12668, The U.S. Army’s Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems) and for the Future
Tactical UAS, a Group 3 system. Meanwhile, under the Force Structure Transformation Initiative, the
Army plans to establish new counter-UAS units (see CRS Report R47985, The 2024 Army Force
Structure Transformation Initiative).
Advocates for the proposed Drone Corps argue that a new branch would acknowledge the growing
prevalence of drones on the modern battlefield and foster specialized training and skills development.
Opponents of the proposal, including Under Secretary of the Army Gabe Camarillo, counter that a new
branch is premature, given that the Army is still considering requirements for new small and medium
drones and experimenting with how these systems might be effectively employed. In a statement on June
11, 2024, addressing a draft of H.R. 8070, the Biden Administration said that it “strongly opposes” the
establishment of a Drone Corps, arguing that the new branch would create “an unwarranted degree of
specialization.”
Potential Considerations for Congress
In addition to deciding whether or not to establish a Drone Corps as passed by the House, Congress may
consider other options, including but not limited to the following:
• Congress could require that the Army study the feasibility, efficacy, and cost of
establishing a basic branch for small and medium UAS and counter-UAS.

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• Congress could require a study by a non-DOD entity, such as a Federally Funded
Research and Development Center (FFRDC), of the ways in which the Army and Marine
Corps organize and train their members responsible for small and medium UAS and
counter-UAS.

Author Information

Daniel M. Gettinger
Andrew Feickert
Analyst in U.S. Defense Policy
Specialist in Military Ground Forces

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
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