As the President and CEO of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), Michael Robbins leads the world’s largest trade association dedicated to advancing autonomy, uncrewed systems, and robotics across defense, civil, and commercial markets. In this Op-Ed, Robbins shares his insights on the proposed restrictions on Chinese drone technology facing the industry today. DRONELIFE neither makes nor accepts payment for guest posts.
Preparing for PRC Drone Restrictions: A Call to Action for the U.S. Drone Industry
by AUVSI President and CEO Michael Robbins
The United States drone industry stands at a critical juncture. With the likely restriction of drones and certain critical components originating from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the time for decisive action is now.
The security vulnerabilities associated with PRC drones are well-documented within the national security community, and the threat they pose to U.S. interests cannot be overstated. Federal agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Commerce, and Department of Treasury have all raised serious national security concerns with PRC drones and drone components. While much of this information remains classified, there are efforts underway to declassify certain information on the security vulnerabilities and threats associated with PRC drones so that information can be more available for public consumption. The Trump Administration’s commitment to scrutinizing companies aligned with the PRC military, those on the DoD’s 1260H list, is clear. Those who dismiss this as mere rhetoric are overlooking the real and immediate risks or are willfully ignoring what is right in front of them.
While some voices in the industry have attempted to spin Section 1709 of the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as a temporary victory for PRC drone operators, the reality is quite different. This provision will likely lead to the FCC adding PRC drones to its Covered Entity List, further restricting their use in the U.S. market.
The capabilities of U.S. and allied nation drones have advanced remarkably in recent years. Many American and allied-made systems now match or surpass their PRC counterparts in terms of performance and innovation. However, higher costs remain a significant hurdle. This is a classic catch-22: U.S. and allied drone manufacturers cannot lower costs without scaling production, yet achieving scale is impossible as long as PRC companies flood the market with subsidized drones.
To break this cycle, American drone manufacturers must take proactive steps to diversify their supply chains and reduce reliance on PRC components. Waiting to be reactive could very well prove to be costly. The recent sanctions on Skydio by the PRC, which disrupted their battery supply line, and the U.S. Treasury sanctions on T-Motor – once a critical motor supplier for many U.S. drone manufacturers—serve as stark warnings. The Defense Innovation Board called this “a canary in the coal mine” moment. These disruptions highlight the precariousness of maintaining supply chains with adversarial nations. Not only are the drones and certain critical components a national security risk due to the inherent nature of connected devices controlled by an adversarial nation, but the supply chain of all components could be weaponized and cut off at a moment’s notice.
It is not only manufacturers who need to prepare for these impending restrictions. Public safety agencies, drone service providers, and other operators with investments in PRC drones must take the national security threat, and the likely restriction of PRC drones and certain critical components, seriously and begin planning now. The industry cannot afford to be caught off guard. And there is no excuse to be caught off guard – the red light is blinking. Don’t ignore it.
While the challenges ahead may seem daunting, there are clear steps that can be taken to mitigate risks and adapt to a new market reality. The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) has long advocated for strengthening the U.S. and allied-nation drone industry. Our Partnership for Drone Competitiveness effort outlines actionable strategies to enhance domestic and allied manufacturing capabilities and build resilient supply chains. We have repeatedly underscored the urgent need for a robust and secure drone ecosystem, free from foreign influence and manipulation.
To those in the public safety sector and commercial drone operations who may be impacted by these changes, we understand the difficulties you face. The transition away from PRC systems will not be without its challenges, but the long-term benefits to national security, supply chain stability, and operational integrity are well worth the effort. Now is the time to make thoughtful decisions, invest in American and allied-made technologies, and align with trusted nations to ensure a strong and secure future for our industry.
The U.S. drone industry has an opportunity to redefine itself, to become a beacon of innovation and security on the global stage. But this will only happen if we collectively recognize the risks, adapt, and take concrete, proactive actions today to ensure our future success. The choice is yours to make – choose wisely.
Michael Robbins is President and CEO at AUVSI, the world’s largest organization representing autonomous systems, drones, and robotics in the commercial and defense sectors. With a background in government, military, and industry sectors, Robbins brings extensive experience in advocacy, communications, and strategic leadership. He currently serves as an Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and holds key roles on influential advisory boards, Michael serves on the MITRE Corporation’s Aviation Advisory Committee and the National Advanced Mobility Consortium’s (NAMC) Advisory Committee. He recently served as co-chair of the Federal Aviation Administration’s UAS Detection and Mitigation Aviation Rulemaking Committee. He previously served on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Aviation Supply Chain Risk Task Force, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council sUAS Security Working Group, and on the boards of NAMC and the Greater Washington Aviation Open.Read more:
- AUVSI’s Michael Robbins Calls for BVLOS Rule and Action on Chinese Drones in Morning Keynote
- AUVSI Op-Ed: Ending Reliance on PRC Drones: Why the U.S. Must Act Now to Secure the Future of Domestic Drone Manufacturing
- AUVSI Urges Congress to Fast-Track Uncrewed Systems for National Defense and Navy Readiness
- FY25 NDAA: A Temporary Reprieve for Chinese Drones or the Beginning of the End?
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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AUVSI continues to throw its small business, drone service provider (DSP) constituents under the bus to support it US OEM donors. Several things in this Op Ed are not true. Starting with the arguments that Chinese drones a well-documented security. First, essentially every published risk has been shown to be false, from facial recognition to reading of heartbeats to storing everything on their cloud for the PRC to mine with AI. When confronted with the facts that these are untrue, security folks run behind the veil of, “Well, that’s classified.” But if their publicly released facts are so fallacious, how in the world can one believe that their classified facts have better due diligence and scrutiny.
Second, there is no US made prosumer drone being made. Only higher end drones which are an order of magnitude more expensive than Chinese drones. So if FCC bans transmission of Chinese drones, overnight the AUVSI’s DSP constituents are shut down. This is billions of dollars of business gone. The small business will not be able to afford the switch. No grants are being made to small business DSP. Everything will go to the large corporations who can afford the drone, just as they afford to make huge donations to AUVSI, to get them to throw the small DSPs under the bus. Even if they existing drones being used are grandfathered, this only buys 2-3 years, the average shelf life of a business drone.
Finally, competition makes an industry stronger. DJI and Autel are not going to do anything to lose US business, their main bread and butter, They have already demonstrated by shutting down their cloud and by shutting down the geofence system which was claimed to be the mechanism by which they could ground every drone in the US. But US OEMs cannot compete, mainly because labor overhead in the US is through the roof with taxes (SSA, Medicare, Income, State Income, and Local Income) and mandatory healthcare. Just stating that as a fact. So their solution, and what they pay lobbyists and professional organizations like AUVSI to proclaim, is to kill competition and allow them to continue to make poor quality drones at exorbitant prices.
Mr. Robbins, thank you for continuing to show your true colors. Maybe a forensic audit needs to be run through AUVSI’s books, like what is occurring with the federal government, right now.
Facts really should be checked before stories like this are posted publicly unless you’re happy to be just labelled as yet another paid off reporter.
Security concerns cannot be understated – DJI devices specifically has been independently investigated by multiple US organizations to find no more vulnerabilities than similar equipment manufactured in the US.
capabilities of U.S. and allied nation drones have advanced remarkably in recent years – unfortunately there are very few which are actually at the level of DJI and other PRC made equipment and the ones that do met this standard are so expensive they are outside most peoples price ranges so the choices are either PRC equipment or poor equipment with poor results
PRC drones are subsidized – in the case of DJ, I looked into this a while ago. DJI products are exactly 25% more expensive in the US than they are in China and the US puts a 25% tariff on their products so that would mean China was subsidizing the products in their own country as well which I do believe would make much sense.
Personally, I’m getting sick of this political games played by US companies using unjust legal means to push out other companies that have worked hard to produce good products. I’d like to see them put more efforts into improving their own products to match instead.
Michael Robbins is flat out lying or is woefully uneducated on the subject. So many of the things he says are flat out not true. Liar liar pants on fire.
American education and ingenuity is so far behind Chinese I fear they may completely overtake us in all areas. They begin intensive education and training at 5 years of age consequently they are far ahead while are kids play the videos made by Chinese students. Our only hope is someone like Trump to balance education.