This week, the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), American drone manufacturers, and U.S. lawmakers held a Capitol Hill press conference and event to mark the September launch of AUVSI’s Partnership for Drone Competitiveness (Partnership) and the Partnership’s corresponding whitepaper. The Partnership is a coalition built to support a stronger U.S. drone industry, enable greater security for customers and end users, forge American leadership in advanced aviation, and effectively level the playing field for domestic and allied drone manufacturers against foreign subsidized competition.  

U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) and Representative Dina Titus (D-NV-1) joined Michael Robbins, Chief Advocacy Officer of AUVSI; Mark Valentine, President and General Manager, Global Government of Skydio; Shane Beams, CEO of Vision Aerial; Esmael Ansari, Vice President, Government Relations of BRINC Drones; Jeff Thompson, Founder and CEO of Red Cat Holdings; and Ivan Stamatovski, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Easy Aerial. 

Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) remarked:

“Here’s what we must do. We must ensure that the drones we use for critical operations are fully secure. We must invest in U.S. drone manufacturing. And we must foster a regulatory environment that promotes innovation on our shores, and it doesn't push it overseas. It's essential that the United States dominate the unmanned aircraft's assistance market for the sake of our workers and for the sake of our national security.” 
 

In her remarks, Representative Dina Titus (D-NV-1) said:

“We want to have the ability to use drones, we've got to be sure that we are able to supply those drones here at home and that's why I'm pleased to be part of today to talk about our homegrown industries. The more we can do that to incentivize our own industry and then make it easier and better and more efficient and safer to use drones in these different lines of work and different occupations, different enterprises, the better off we'll all be. So, I thank [AUVSI], you've been great partners. 
 

Additionally, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) released the following statement in support of AUVSI’s Partnership:

“I’m proud to celebrate the launch of the Partnership for Drone Competitiveness. The use of drones and unmanned systems has grown exponentially over the past few years, but as it stands today, the U.S. has fallen significantly behind some of our foreign adversaries in the production of these systems. As more drones are being used by U.S. businesses and government agencies, I’ve been working on legislation to ensure their safety and security. That starts with manufacturing them here at home. This partnership is the next step towards leveling the playing field for U.S. drone manufacturers and I am looking forward to the great work we can do together.” 
 

Michael Robbins, Chief Advocacy Officer at AUVSI, who delivered opening remarks at the event, added:

“When we launched the Partnership for Drone Competitiveness in September, we understood that a strong domestic industry represents a strategic imperative in the new era of strategic competition. We are grateful to have the support of Senators Budd and Warner and Representative Titus, as well as many other members of Congress, championing this issue on Capitol Hill. This week’s press conference demonstrates another significant step toward a strong and secure domestic drone industry to level the playing field against unfair trade practices by China. We look forward to working with Congress more to meet the growing demand from industry and government.”  
 

AUVSI and member companies also conducted successful meetings with Senators Tester (D-MT), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), in addition to the time already with Senator Budd and Representative Titus. In these meetings, the delegation discussed ongoing legislative efforts, including the American Security Drone Act, the STOP Illicit Drones Act, and the Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant Act, as well as new initiatives including enhanced drone tariffs against China, grant programs, the Department of Defense’s Replicator program, supply chain constraints and more.

In addition to the companies that attended the event, supporters of the Partnership for Drone Competitiveness include AeroVironment, Arrive, Ascend Engineering, Avangrid, Censys Technologies, Dark Wolf Solutions, Draganfly, DroneUp, Eve Vehicles Corporation, Falcon UAV, Gorge Technology Alliance, Hoverfly Technologies, MatrixSpace, MaxAmps Lithium Batteries, Mobilicom, Near Earth Autonomy, Ondas Holdings, Phoenix Air Unmanned, Pierce Aerospace, ProximaVision, SICDRONE, Silvus Technologies, Skyfish, Skyfront, Valor Robotics, Watts Innovations, WISPR Systems and Workhorse Aero.
 
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