Jul 18, 2025
Josephine Millward, Partner @ OpAmp Capital
The conflict in Ukraine shows that drones will shape the future of warfare. For national security and prosperity, the US must maintain leadership in AI and drone innovation, boost our domestic supply chain and manufacturing. We applaud the White House’s recent two drone executive orders, “Unleashing American Drone Dominance” and “Restore American Airspace Sovereignty”, the most aggressive US drone policy to date, addressing the market dominance of Chinese-manufactured drones in the US and expanding US domestic manufacturing.
The executive orders, together with the Trump administration’s record $13.4 billion FY2026 DoD funding request for AI and autonomy, represent a significant step forward for the US drone industry. The executive orders aim to reduce regulatory hurdles and drive market adoption by fast-tracking Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations — the long-awaited FAA regulation that integrates drones into the national airspace — deploying AI-assisted waiver approvals, and establishing an eVTOL pilot program for drone delivery. These mandates support the US innovation ecosystem, strengthen the American industrial base, and, most importantly, prioritize the use of US-made drones for both commercial and defense applications.
The FY2026 budget request marks the first time the US Department of Defense has allocated a dedicated section to AI and Autonomy, prioritizing unmanned systems and counter-drone capabilities in response to rapidly evolving threats posed by technology advancements, including the proliferation of low-cost drones. The $13.4 billion FY2026 budget request for autonomy includes $3.1 billion for counter-drone, $9.4 billion for unmanned and remotely operated aerial vehicles, $210 million for autonomous ground vehicles, $1.7 billion for autonomous ships, $734 million for underwater capabilities, and $1.2 billion for enabling capabilities, including autonomy software and cross-domain integration.
The executive orders address long-term security and supply chain concerns about DJI’s market dominance. DJI, a Chinese company, is the leading global drone manufacturer, estimated to hold 80% of the US market, serving consumers, enterprises, and public safety agencies.
The executive orders and FY2026 defense budget are positive for the US drone industry, and exciting news for OpAmp Capital’s dual-use portfolio companies, which comprise part of the drone innovation ecosystem. Owl Autonomous Imaging, TrustPoint, and Blackshark.AI are advancing sensing, navigation, and intelligence for autonomous platforms. Below is a brief description of each company. Please reach out if you are interested in exploring a partnership to advance US drone innovation.
Owl Autonomous Imaging is building the first HD digital thermal sensor made in the US based on their proprietary system-on-a-chip. Owl can significantly reduce SWaP-C (size, weight, power, and cost) of thermal sensors and enable real-time insights through edge AI. The company is backed by the Army’s Night Vision office and partnered with leading thermal sensor suppliers. Owl’s sensors bring game-changing targeting and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) capabilities for autonomous platforms, notably smaller drones. Owl’s solutions are passive for stealth, enabling mission-critical night vision and navigation in darkness while dramatically improving visibility in degraded environments, including foul weather, smoke, and fog.
https://www.owlai.us/
Blackshark.AI makes spatial intelligence accessible in real-time by providing powerful and easy-to-use data analytics tools, from no-code AI training to 3D reconstruction. The company’s platform empowers government and commercial customers to extract insights from any visual data (drone, satellite, smartphones) by building their models. Their customers are using their sensor-agnostic AI to solve a wide range of problems that require accurate and timely information. Applications include land use, battlefield, and disaster relief damage assessment, and environmental classification in 2D. Blackshark’s 3D supports simulation, urban and mission planning and digital twin. Blackshark is backed by Point72 Ventures, Microsoft, Maxar Technologies, and In-Q-Tel.
https://blackshark.ai/
TrustPoint is developing a commercial smallsat constellation in Low-Earth Orbit to deliver GPS-independent and resilient Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) services to government and commercial customers. Unlike other PNT systems, TrustPoint operates in the C-band, ensuring greater resistance to GPS jamming and interference by utilizing a distinct frequency. TrustPoint’s spectrum diversity and GPS independence provide reliability and continuity for PNT solutions, supporting critical applications such as drone operations in GPS-denied environments, which are typical for sectors like mining and agriculture, and have become the new norm in the battlefield. With strong traction in both government and commercial sectors, bolstered by multiple awards and strategic partnerships, TrustPoint is advancing a resilient and diverse complement to GPS to meet modern operational demands.
https://www.trustpointgps.com/