AUVSI Outlines UxS Investment Strategy in Letter to DoD

July 29, 2025

Today during the Drone and AAM Policy Symposium, the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth outlining industry recommendations for implementing the autonomous systems funding included in the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The letter emphasizes the need for the Department of Defense (DoD) to strategically convert the historic funding investment into purchasing power to support the U.S. autonomous industry across the air, ground, and maritime domains. 

Michael Robbins, President and CEO of AUVSI, said, “UxS funding included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize our forces, strengthen the defense industrial base, and maintain the technological edge that underpins U.S. security.  The DoD must adopt an implementation strategy that reflects the distinct operational needs of uncrewed systems across air, ground, and maritime domains, while directly addressing the industrial base vulnerabilities that limit America’s ability to produce at speed and scale.” 

In the letter, AUVSI calls for a multifaceted implementation strategy, including: 

• Targeted procurement of UxS capabilities across all domains to support industrial base expansion and surge capacity. 

• Seamless transition from prototypes to fielded systems by matching iterative testing with streamlined acquisition pathways. 

• Full execution of the “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance” memorandum, and application of similar principles to maritime and ground systems. 

• Flexible, outcome-driven contracting approaches to support modular payloads and autonomous technologies in distributed environments. 

• Expansion of the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program to address critical supply chain vulnerabilities and provide rapid capital to scale trusted domestic manufacturers. 

• Cross-functional collaboration between DoD, service component acquisition teams, warfighters, and industry, especially small and non-traditional firms, to accelerate innovation and reduce lifecycle costs. 

AUVSI applauds the Secretary of Defense’s recent memo to accelerate drone acquisition reform, and we encourage the Department to apply similar principles across all domains of autonomy to drive faster fielding, strengthen the industrial base, and outpace emerging threats. This includes prioritizing ground-based counter-UxS capabilities and robotic cargo transport, as well as maritime platforms critical for persistent surveillance, mine countermeasures, and distributed deterrence.  

“AUVSI and our members stand ready to collaborate with the Department to help implement this transformative investment,” Robbins said. “By building a resilient, secure, and competitive U.S. industrial base for autonomy, we can ensure our warfighters are equipped with the most advanced and domestically sourced systems available.” 

The full letter is available here.

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Media Contact:
Ryan Carver
rcarver@auvsi.org