Buried toward the bottom of President Trump’s Executive Order, titled “Unleashing American Drone Dominance” (the “Order”), is a mandate to identify military programs made more “efficient or lethal if replaced” by unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”), aka “drones.” The Order, issued June 6, 2025, signals the administration’s intent to protect and expand America’s drone industrial base, both for commercial and federal purposes. The Order promotes a vision of electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft (essentially flying cars) that “promise to modernize methods for cargo delivery, passenger transport, and other advanced air mobility capabilities.” With two-thirds of the Order focused on domestic commercialization of UAS, the final third focuses on the realpolitik use of drones. For government contractors and drone suppliers who sell, or would like to sell, drones to the federal government, the Order offers several sections of interest.
First, the Order directs the establishment of an eVTOL Integration Pilot Program by the Secretary of Transportation. Acting quickly, the Secretary is to issue a request for proposals by September 6, 2025, and finalize selection of at least five pilot projects by March 6, 2026, to demonstrate eVTOL uses for advanced air mobility, medical response, cargo transport, and rural access. Obviously, this will be an opportunity to be the first in the door for what could be a significant long-term opportunity with federal buyers. The pilot projects are to begin eVTOL operations within 90 days of award. The program will conclude three years after the first pilot project becomes operational.
Second, the Order seeks to protect the integrity of the drone supply chain and bolster domestic drone production. President Trump’s protectionist agenda runs deep, dating back to executive actions to promote domestic sourcing preferences in his first term, and reflected more recently in his emphasis on tariffs. The Order instructs “[a]ll agencies” to “prioritize the integration of UAS manufactured in the United States over those made abroad to the maximum extent permitted by law.” Given the application of existing domestic preferences, it isn’t clear what changes this will require, but it does indicate administration priorities. To secure the drone supply chain “from undue foreign influence and exploitation,” the Order requires the Federal Acquisition Security Council to publish a “Covered Foreign Entity List” identifying foreign suppliers that pose supply chain risks. The Order also directs the Department of Commerce to ensure vital components “remain under American control and free from national security risks” by engaging in rulemaking and investigations.
Third, the Order prioritizes the export of U.S.-made drones. To ramp up exports, the Order mandates a variety of incentives. Among these are financial incentives, including direct loans and loan guarantees, equity investments, political risk insurance, technical assistance, grants, market access, and “any other incentive mechanism authorized by law.” It remains to be seen what concrete actions will result from this, but it is clearly worth tracking for those in the industry. To facilitate getting the drones to overseas markets, the Order instructs the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the secretaries of State, Defense, and Energy, to relax export control regulations before September 7, 2025. A few caveats are placed on the amendment of export controls: the U.S.-made drones may not be exported to foreign adversaries, pose a risk of diversion from programs of concern, or be otherwise restricted by law. Additionally, Commerce is to coordinate initiatives with other agencies to expand market access, reduce foreign trade barriers, and promote international interoperability.
Fourth, the Order takes several steps to accelerate the American warfighter’s adoption of drone technology:
- The Defense Innovation Unit’s (“DIU”) Blue UAS list, a list of Department of Defense (“DoD”) approved drones, is to be leveraged to get more drones into the hands of America’s warfighters more quickly and easily. Blue list drones are those that are compliant with the laws governing DoD drone procurement: Section 848 of the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”), section 817 of the FY23 NDAA, and the American Security Drone Act.
- Blue list drones will be untethered from exception to policy requirements to operate on all military installations or ranges. The Blue list is to be expand by September 6, 2025, to include all drones and critical components compliant with Section 848, with the list updated monthly. This will make a greater variety of drones available more easily. Section 848, as amended, prohibits the DoD from procuring certain covered drones, unless an exception applies (such as for counter-drone activities), or a waiver is granted. Currently, the only way to get new vendors added to the list is either through sponsorship of a DoD customer or in response to a DIU Commercial Solutions opening.
- As the list of approved domestic drones increases, the Order also tightens the prohibitions on covered foreign drones. The Order mandates that exemptions and waivers to Section 848 be curtailed, making them available only when “absolutely necessary” to mission success (one presumes to include testing and countermeasures). Section 848 compliance, however, is not to interfere with the military’s rapid adoption of drone technology as the armed forces seek “to exceed the capabilities of our foreign adversaries.”
- Access to airspace for UAS training is to be streamlined by the FAA within 90 days, and a report on unnecessary barriers to accessing electromagnetic spectrum for UAS training is to land on the President’s desk within the same time frame.
- Each military department is to identify programs that would be more cost efficient or lethal if replaced by UAS, with a report due to the President within 90 days.
Companies supplying drones to the federal government (or looking to do so) will find much of interest in the Order. Drones increasingly play an important and sophisticated role in both the civil and defense sectors. The Order indicates the current administration’s commitment to expanding that role for domestically manufactured drones through regulatory rollback and incentives. The Order leaves in place the existing Congressionally-imposed protections of Section 848 and the “American Drone Security Act” of 2023, (which imposed a sweeping ban across all agencies on covered foreign drones, implemented via FAR clause 52.240-1), and supplements those protections with positive-side incentives to strengthen and promote the domestic drone industrial base.
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