President Trump signed, on June 6, 2025, an executive order which aims to prop up the drone and advanced air mobility industries in the United States.
The executive order, which has been unambiguously titled “Unleashing American drone dominance”, outlines a number of measures to accelerate the adoption of drone and eVTOL technology in the US in, both, civilian and military roles while also boosting drone manufacturing and exports.
The order establishes concrete and rather ambitious timelines for regulatory changes. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is required to propose, within 30 days of the order’s signature, new rules to enable routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations for commercial and public safety purposes. These new rules should be based on clear metrics and will be the basis for the final set of regulations, which will be published within 240 days.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is also expected to play a role in streamlining drone waiver applications. The order requires the Department of Transportation to deploy AI tools to conduct risk assessments and simplify the approval process.
The order also expresses a need for drone operations to be subject to a less onerous approval process than manned aircraft. It also requires the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to propose a roadmap for the integration of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the US national airspace system.
In the field of advanced air mobility, the executive order sets up an Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. This project, which will have an initial duration of three years (and can be prolonged after this term) is considered an extension of the BEYOND program, an initiative launched by the FAA in 2020 to advance the integration of unmanned aerial vehicles into the airspace system.
Five eVTOL programs will be selected and placed under the auspices of the eIPP program. An initial report on the program’s progress will be submitted to the President within 180 days of its launch, with annual reports following thereafter. The findings of this program will be the basis for regulation enabling the permanent integration of eVTOL operations in the US airspace.
The US administration will also increase the scrutiny of the drone supply chain, in order to limit the use of key components originating in countries that are considered adversaries of the US. It also decrees that all US agencies should prioritize whenever possible, US-made drones. Exports to friendly countries will also be supported by granting prirority access to government-sponsored loans, guarantees, political risk insurance and other forms of market access facilitation.
The executive order calls also for an assessment of low-cost, high-performance drone technology options available to the US military, with all branches of service asked to identify promising drone programs. It also envisages an expansion of the airspace devoted to drone-related military training activities.
