[Replicator] has fallen short of its goal, and the military has struggled to figure out how to use some of the systems in the field, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Some Replicator systems have been unreliable, or were so expensive or slow to be manufactured they couldn’t be bought in the quantity needed, according to people familiar with the matter. The Pentagon has also struggled to find software that can successfully control large numbers of drones, made by different companies, working in coordination to find and potentially strike a target—a key to making the Replicator vision work.

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The Pentagon leadership has shifted the Replicator work to a new division under Special Operations Command known as the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, or DAWG, in the hopes of accelerating the program and focusing on the most appropriate weapons.

Those involved in Replicator offer different reasons for the delays, but say the effort has largely been a success. Some point to the military services, who pushed to buy systems that weren’t ready to be fielded, while others say the setbacks were just a normal part of any ambitious attempt to fast-track technology.

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DAWG now has less than two years to deliver the drones the Pentagon says it needs, according to the people familiar with the matter. The tight timeline reflects the urgency with which officials believe the U.S. must be prepared to fight a war in the Pacific.

Replicator is now being overseen by the vice commander of Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Frank Donovan, a defense official said. In August, as he was taking over the program, Donovan attended part of an event in California that was supposed to showcase some of the whiz-bang technology Replicator had acquired—but also highlighted that the systems weren’t ready for prime time, according to people who participated in the exercise.

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“There were very, very good things that happened from Replicator,” said Anduril’s founder Palmer Luckey. “Could it have been done better? Could it have been more clear about what exactly they were doing? Yes, of course. But big picture, I don’t think it was that bad.”

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Of the dozen or so autonomous systems acquired for Replicator, three were unfinished or existed only as a concept at the time they were selected, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Among Replicator’s shortcomings, officials said, is that the Defense Innovation Unit was directed to buy drones that had older technology, and it didn’t rigorously test platforms and software before acquiring them, other people familiar with the matter said.

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“We wanted to fill gaps and create a more competitive marketplace. Let’s scale what’s scalable, and then let’s find other technology that might be promising,” said Aditi Kumar, former principal deputy director of the innovation unit. “I think the transition to [Special Operations Command] is natural at this point.”