At the AUSA 2025 annual meeting, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll emphasized the need for modernization, stating that many technologies currently in use are over 30 years old. Driscoll noted, "if small arms defined the 20th century, drones will define the 21st," as he outlined plans for a drone-centric future driven by Silicon Valley principles. The Army aims to streamline contracts with startups, speeding up AI and robotics development from years to mere months.