The U.S. Defense Department is doubling down on drone-neutralizing technologies in its latest version of Replicator, which quietly rolled out Monday morning.

Why it matters: The initiative is the clearest sign of Pentagon priorities.

• Unmanned aerial systems are killing and maiming scores of people across the world, eluding even the most sophisticated air defenses.
• Exchanges in Eastern Europe dominate headlines. But just months ago an attack drone hit Tower 22, a desert installation in Jordan, killing three U.S. troops and injuring dozens more.
• Meanwhile, the Navy expended more than $1 billion in precious munitions dealing with Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Driving the news: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued guidance about Replicator 2 on Sept. 27. The memo was made public today.

• Austin said the narrow focus will help overcome production capacity and innovation issues. "Meaningfully improved" protections against small drones are expected within two years of Replicator 2 funding.
• Defense Innovation Unit director Doug Beck will lead the charge alongside Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer. (The DIU did not immediately comment on the new project.)
• LaPlante hinted at his thinking in a discussion with reporters in August: "You have everything from the kinetic to the non-kinetic. And then you have things that you can do even before the launch ever happens."

Between the lines: Replicator details are closely guarded. Exactly what is being bought is rarely disclosed.

• Jonathan Moneymaker, the CEO at defense contractor BlueHalo, told me the Pentagon's messaging confirms a "long-held belief that reliably defending against swarms of drones is an absolute priority" for the future of warfare.

Flashback: Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks unveiled the OG Replicator last year.

• Its goal is to quickly field thousands of cheap drones to counter China's massive stockpiles.
• Replicator 2 is the other side of the coin.

My thought bubble: This could be the push that gets powerful laser and microwave weapons widely adopted. Leaders across the services wanted them in hand yesterday.

Go deeper: U.S. Army eyes drone-soaked Middle East to refine energy weapons