Michael Robbins, President and CEO of AUVSI, delivered a keynote address titled Built to Lead. Driving Towards Impact to a record-setting crowd to kick off XPONENTIAL 2026 in Detroit. Progress is real, he said, but so is the pressure, and the decisions being made right now will define the next decade of autonomy adoption across air, ground and maritime domains.
Detroit as a Mirror for the Industry
Robbins leaned into the symbolism of the host city. Detroit, he reminded the audience, rose from literal ashes in 1805. Just as in World War II when the city powered the arsenal of democracy, today it continues to reinvent itself once again as a technology hub. “Strategic advantage belongs to those who can manufacture, scale, and deliver when the stakes are highest,” Robbins said. “And similarly, AUVSI and the industry we represent are entering a different phase.”
That phase, he argued, involves a shift from invention to integration, proving the technology works to deploying it at scale, earning public trust and executing on outcomes. AUVSI itself began in 1972 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, founded by veterans who returned from Vietnam convinced that remotely piloted aircraft would matter in future conflicts. More than five decades later, Robbins cast that founding insight as both a legacy and a responsibility.
BVLOS Progress, What’s Left Unfinished
On the regulatory front, Robbins highlighted the FAA’s long-awaited proposed rule for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations as a meaningful milestone, but refused to let the room celebrate prematurely. “The draft itself has not been finished and no one in this room should pretend the work is done,” he said. AUVSI has been working daily with the FAA, DOT, TSA, and Congress to shape a rule that reflects operational reality, rewards performance and enables routine missions at scale, he noted.
The numbers suggest the market has already made its case. AUVSI’s industry intelligence team has identified more than 920 active BVLOS waivers. Approvals have doubled year over year. “For years, our industry has been asked to prove that these operations can be done safely, reliably and usefully,” Robbins said. “Now the government has to codify what the market has already demonstrated.”
He applied similar urgency to advanced air mobility, calling for more transparent certification timelines, better use of FAA delegation authority and a clear path from concept to certification to operations. He praised the FAA’s new e-IPP program, modeled on lessons from the UAS Integration Pilot Program, as another vehicle to build regulatory confidence through real operations and real data.
The China Supply Chain Reckoning
Robbins reserved his sharpest-edged remarks for the strategic competition with China. Invoking historical parallels, such as Britain’s naval blockade of Germany in World War I and Japan’s resource dependencies before Pearl Harbor, he warned that the United States finds itself in a dangerously familiar position. “If we cannot access the raw materials and components required to build and sustain autonomous systems because sea lanes are closed or supply lanes are cut, then we have a very large problem,” he said.
Robbins disclosed that nearly $47 billion in private capital has flowed into the U.S. autonomy industry since the start of 2025. More than 400 unique investors have backed 170 companies. That investment has already triggered 57 domestic manufacturing announcements that represent nearly 13 million square feet of new U.S. production capacity and an estimated 20,000 new jobs. “That additional manufacturing will drive down cost as economies of scale are achieved and reduce dependency on PRC supply chains at exactly the moment the market is demanding both,” he said.
In February, AUVSI launched its Partnership for Robotics Competitiveness to warn that the same playbook China used to dominate commercial drones (state-backed investment, market flooding and below-market dumping) is now targeting robotics and embodied AI. Robbins pointed to a recent robot half-marathon in Beijing, where a Chinese humanoid finished faster than the human world record. “That metaphor writes itself,” he said. “We are in a robotics race with China, and right now they are moving with speed, scale and purpose.”
Defense Spending and the Production Imperative
On the defense side, Robbins cited AUVSI’s industry intelligence team’s analysis of the proposed defense budget, which allocates more than $54 billion for the Defense Autonomy Working Group (DAWG), a figure he called “real money” that reflects a genuine shift in Pentagon priorities. He also highlighted AUVSI’s role in helping to secure $1.1 billion for the Drone Dominance program, noting that Gauntlet I alone resulted in 30,000 drone orders placed. This represents more than the Pentagon had purchased in many prior years combined.
Robbins pointed to the Navy’s decision to create a dedicated robotics and autonomous systems office as evidence that unmanned maritime systems have moved from concept to core force design. But he was also unsparing about the real test still ahead. Innovation must now translate into production, acquisition and fielding at the speed, scale and price point war fighters actually require. Of the Pentagon leaders, he said, “If you bring them useful tech that can’t be produced at scale, they’re not interested.”
Workforce, Immigration and the Human Side of Scale
Robbins spent considerable time on a challenge that rarely gets keynote billing: workforce development. Without operators, maintainers, integrators and technicians, he argued, scaling autonomy will be impossible regardless of how much capital flows in or how many manufacturing facilities break ground. AUVSI is expanding its Trusted UAS operator training programs and supporting initiatives like Fullerton College’s American Autonomous Workforce Initiative, which aims to build a seamless pipeline from STEM education through apprenticeship and degree programs.
He also addressed immigration policy directly and personally. Current H-1B visa restrictions, he argued, continue to exclude qualified, high-skilled workers from roles that will otherwise go unfilled. This, he believes, accelerates offshoring and weakens U.S. competitiveness in robotics and AI. “This is not abstract for us,” Robbins said. “AUVSI is experiencing this pain directly, with one of our own rising stars recently being denied an H-1B visa despite the clear value that person brings to our mission.” He framed targeted, high-skilled immigration reform as both an economic and national security imperative.
Leading Through Complexity
Robbins closed with a forward look, and a note of caution. The AI industry, he observed, is already navigating intense public scrutiny over jobs, ethics and cybersecurity, and often not from a position of strength. Drones, robotics and autonomous systems will face the same reckoning. “When we do, we cannot afford to be unprepared,” he said. AUVSI’s answer is to engage policymakers and thought leaders now, shape standards proactively and help the industry speak with clarity and credibility before external narratives take hold.
“The opportunity in front of us is enormous,” Robbins told the audience. “We’re learning from history, we’re preparing, we’re building the talent, the mission and the momentum.”
The keynote reflected the show’s technical sessions, policy debates and exhibition floors, which likewise seem squarely focused on tackling the work that remains to be done for the autonomy ecosystem to build, scale and, indeed, lead.