Strengthening the American Drone Industrial Base

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. 

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