On June 6, 2025, President Trump issued two executive orders (EOs) on unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones. One seeks to make the U.S. a dominant drone manufacturer, exporter, and user; the second addresses the need for countermeasures to keep skies safe. Neither EO requires any immediate change by private sector parties, but drone makers and sellers and developers of counter-UAS technologies should expect more opportunities, and regulations, in this space. This alert provides some brief highlights.
The first EO, Unleashing American Drone Dominance, directs:
- Federal Aviation Administration to enable Beyond Visual Line of Sight for routine public safety and commercial operations (i.e., without a waiver); maximize use of test ranges to develop and scale new drone technologies; and establish an Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing Integration Pilot Program;
- U.S. Department of Commerce to secure the drone supply chain against foreign control;
- U.S. Departments of Commerce, Defense, State, and Energy to coordinate and amend export control regulations to enable the expedited export of U.S.-made drones;
- U.S. Department of Defense to expand the list of drones and components that comply with Section 848 of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (i.e., not made in or by a company domiciled in China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran, or made by a company on the Department of Commerce’s Consolidated Screening List); and coordinate with the Department of Commerce and the Federal Communications Commission to identify unnecessary barriers to accessing the electromagnetic spectrum for conducting drone training.
The second EO, Restoring American Airspace Sovereignty, notes the threats drones operated by hostile actors can present to the U.S., and therefore, among other things:
- establishes a Federal Task Force to Restore American Airspace Sovereignty;
- requires Notices to Airmen and Temporary Flight Restrictions be available online in an open format accepted for drone geofencing and aircraft navigation and guidance system purposes, helping operators stay compliant while protecting critical infrastructure;
- directs the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to award grants to state, local, tribal, and territorial agencies to permit the purchase of counter-UAS technologies;
- directs executive agencies to use counter-UAS technologies, consistent with the law; and
- encourages establishment of a National Training for Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems to develop capabilities to secure major upcoming events held in the U.S., like the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics.
How fast the government implements these initiatives of course remains to be seen, though the EOs direct some agencies to propose actions within the next 30, 90, and 180 days. Still, these EOs demonstrate a commitment by the government to help U.S. entities develop, buy, and use more drone and counter-drone capabilities. (For a current solicitation for drones, see the Defense Innovation Unit’s Project G.I., which is looking for commercial drones to support tactical military units under denied, disrupted, intermittent, and low-bandwidth conditions.) They also show an intent to expand the U.S. drone industrial base.
