Let's Talk About Drones: We Can't Fly The Future If We Can't Build It

Forbes

a day ago

Drones, sometimes called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), are having a transformational moment. While drones have existed since the early 20th century (originally designed for military missions too dangerous for humans), recent advances in automation, AI, and scalable manufacturing have opened the skies to everything from small consumer quadcopters to heavy-lift aircraft capable of carrying substantial cargo.
Today, the global drone market spans consumer, commercial, and defense sectors, delivering value through actionable data, efficiency, and cost savings.
Medium- to large-sized drones offer greater payload capacity, range, and endurance, making them ideal for logistics, large-scale inspections, and critical missions. They can deliver medical and emergency supplies to remote areas, survey disaster zones, and locate missing people in wide-area search and rescue efforts. In the aerospace and defense sector, drones provide real-time intelligence that enables safer, smarter operations while reducing risk to personnel.
Smaller, lightweight quadcopters or fixed-wing UAVs have more maneuverability and can help capture 'birds-eye-views' for filmmakers, map farmland to assess crop health and irrigation, and inspect roofs or cell towers. Skydio is a U.S. leader in this category, with drones that inspect energy grids, assist in life-and-death public safety scenarios, support bridge inspections, and carry out search-and-rescue missions.
Just over sixty days ago, the White House issued three Executive Orders aimed at re-industrializing U.S. airspace:
These EOs were preceded by House and Senate Armed Services Committees' April defense reconciliation, which committed $150 billion to restoring U.S. military capabilities, including $25 billion for munitions and counter-drone capabilities. Then came June's FY 2026 Defense Budget request: $1.01 trillion total (+13.4% over FY25), $13.4 billion for autonomous systems including offensive drone platforms, and $3.1 billion across all services for counter-UAS. In July, H.R.1 earmarked $33 billion in direct spending to advance drones, autonomous systems, and broader U.S. defense modernization: the largest single investment in these technologies to-date.
Recently, the Defense Department also announced plans to support the U.S. drone manufacturing base by equipping U.S. military combat units with "legions of small, inexpensive, American-made drones" paired with investments in simulated drone combat training.
Legislation and financial investment are both promising signals for policymakers, drone companies, and the broader U.S. defense sector. But we can't confuse policy momentum and funding with actual production readiness.
Building the future of flight isn't solely about getting fiscal and regulatory lift off (although it helps), it's about building production systems that are as agile, traceable, and software-driven as the aircrafts themselves.
U.S. drone production is lagging, not for lack of technology development or innovation, because of our dependence on Chinese imports. Globally, commercial drone production is currently dominated by China.
DJI, of Shenzhen, China, alone accounts for about 70% of all global commercial drones sold for hobby and industrial use. The House of Representatives recently passed a bill to ban DJI from supplying its drones in the U.S. with the 'Countering CCP Drones Act,' prompted by concerns that Chinese-made drones could be used to leak secure data on U.S. infrastructure vulnerabilities.
However, because most drones and drone parts come from China, the U.S. stands at a disadvantage. As Beijing tightens trade restrictions on exporting drones, many drone manufacturers are now working quickly to try to find ways to build drone subcomponents onshore themselves.
But this is easier said than done—and U.S. drone manufacturers are up against a slew of obstacles:
Drones are as much software as they are hardware. That means we need to ask difficult questions about our production systems: 'Do we have digital maturity on the factory floor?' 'Are our systems built for traceability and compliance by design?' 'Can our frontline workers see, understand, and respond to what's happening in real-time?'
Consider traceability requirements alone: for a drone to meet Blue UAS standards, manufacturers not only need to track final assembly, but every component: where it came from, how it was built, and who touched it. That level of visibility doesn't happen by accident, but by design. It requires robust data infrastructure, cross-functional coordination, and real-time feedback loops.
Yes, we need policy alignment, funding, and localized supply chains, but if we want to scale domestic airspace production, we must also invest in the digital infrastructure that brings everything together. This means implementing flexible digital production systems that combine robust quality (QA/QC) systems, real-time data visibility, traceability, and security.
This might look like:
This isn't the glamorous side of innovation, but it's the infrastructure that makes innovation real, especially in aerospace and defense, where flexibility is as valuable as speed. If we are serious about reclaiming leadership in drone manufacturing, we must build more than aircraft. We must build the digital foundations that make scale, security, and resilience possible.