Can America build a million drones in two years? The bottlenecks, explained

.

Soren Monroe-Anderson and Olaf Hichwa learned to fly and build fast, agile drones on racing courses, not factory floors. In their late teens they were soldering boards, shaving grams off frames and skipping dances to perfect lines through gates. That obsession became a company, Neros, in 2023 after they tried supplying improvised drones to Ukrainian units and realised how quickly low-cost systems were changing modern warfare, the New York Times reported.

A bet on low-cost expendable systems

The US military wants vast quantities of attritable drones that are cheap enough to lose and simple enough for soldiers to operate with minimal training. Neros’s Archer platform is designed for that role: a first-person-view craft flown through goggles and a controller, built to be fast, manoeuvrable and affordable. After early scepticism from the Pentagon, the Army selected Neros as one of three vendors in the first phase of a programme to buy low-cost systems over the next few years.

Money, momentum and early customers

Investor interest has followed the mission. Neros has raised $121 million, including a recent $75 million round led by a major venture firm. Contracts have begun to accumulate, from a Marine Corps order worth tens of millions for thousands of drones to a multinational coalition procurement for Ukraine. Inside the Pentagon’s innovation units, the founders are viewed as unusually quick builders who iterate fast and pay attention to operator feedback.

Building without China

Designing drones is one challenge; sourcing parts that satisfy national-security restrictions is another. As teenage racers, the founders relied on components from Shenzhen for radios, motors, cameras and batteries. Supplying the U.S. military forced a shift to American and allied suppliers and, where those were too expensive, to building parts in-house. Instead of costly military-grade chips, they turned to inexpensive, reliable components originally designed for everyday electronics.

Training and usability trade-offs

Racing heritage brings advantages and complications. FPV drones are exceptionally nimble but require training to fly well. Neros spends several days training units to handle Archers and to operate despite jamming attempts. This contrasts with mass-market drones that novices can fly quickly but are less effective in contested environments. For the Army and Marines, the trade-off is worth it: a system tuned for speed, survivability and mission flexibility once training is complete.

Scale remains the hurdle

The biggest challenge is volume. Competitors and adversaries can produce staggering numbers of small drones; some factories abroad make in forty-eight hours what American start-ups make in a month. Neros currently hand-assembles a few thousand drones each month at its El Segundo facility, staffed by industry veterans and a young engineering team. To meet U.S.

demand, companies like Neros will need automated lines, high-volume tooling and deeper domestic supply chains.

Why this story matters

Small, inexpensive drones now shape reconnaissance, targeting and electronic warfare at the squad and platoon level. America’s limited ability to build them at scale without Chinese components is a strategic vulnerability. Neros’s rise illustrates how quickly new players can change that equation, blending hobbyist innovation with defence needs and drawing fresh investment into domestic manufacturing.

What to watch next

The defining test will be whether companies like Neros can scale production reliably while keeping costs down and performance consistent. If they succeed, the Army’s attritable-drone initiative could reshape procurement and transform small-unit warfare far faster than past defence modernisation cycles.