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In an unassuming town outside Detroit, a small American startup is quietly preparing U.S. troops for the next era of warfare — where battles won’t be fought by soldiers, but by swarms of machines.
Swarm Defense originally built its business around large-scale drone light shows but has since pivoted into military applications. Today, the same coordination and precision once used for entertainment are being applied to help replicate one of the most complex threats facing modern soldiers: coordinated drone-swarm attacks.
FOX Business’ Kelly Saberi told “Varney & Co.” that Swarm Defense’s technology allows thousands of drones to be launched simultaneously. The system is designed to approximate what it feels like for soldiers to face a coordinated drone swarm in realistic combat scenarios.
The company’s simulation platform uses custom-built software that lets each drone share data and react in real time, similar to how a flock of birds moves in concert. That kind of coordination is what makes drone swarms difficult to counter — and why realistic training is seen as a critical advantage for U.S. forces confronting increasingly autonomous threats.
Conflicts overseas, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have underscored how quickly drones are being weaponized and how widely inexpensive foreign-made systems are used on battlefields. Saberi noted that many troops abroad have operated drones made by Chinese manufacturers, raising concerns about supply-chain vulnerabilities and national security, and highlighting the need for strict compliance with federal rules such as those in the National Defense Authorization Act that govern the sourcing of U.S. defense technology.
The Department of Defense and other federal agencies have long moved to restrict purchases of drones with Chinese components over security concerns, including potential data-transfer risks tied to foreign infrastructure. In late 2025, the Federal Communications Commission added Chinese drone makers DJI and Autel, along with foreign-made drones and components, to a list of equipment posing “unacceptable risks” to U.S. national security, effectively barring approval of new models for import or sale without a defense agency determination. This follows broader congressional scrutiny and legislative language in recent defense bills aimed at reducing reliance on foreign suppliers.
Industry experts note that China remains the dominant global drone manufacturer, with far more units produced annually than U.S. companies — a gap that has put firms like Swarm Defense in the spotlight as Washington seeks to rebuild domestic drone capabilities and reduce reliance on foreign technology.
The company’s CEO, Kyle Dorosz, emphasized the urgency of scaling American production.
“We have a tall task ahead of us to… continue supplying drones without the dependency on foreign nations,” he said. “We need to be ready to scale, we need to be ready to react, and we need to be ready to support American drone dominance.”
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Beyond manufacturing, the training component remains a major focus. Saberi described the experience as intense and highly coordinated, designed to prepare troops for the sights, sounds and physical stressors of future combat scenarios involving autonomous systems.
As global threats evolve, small factories in places like Auburn Hills are becoming essential to America’s defense strategy — quiet workshops where the next generation of warfare is being shaped, one American-built drone at a time.
