The advancement of uncrewed technology relies heavily on a variety of factors coming together and shaping the future of the industry. The industry is in exciting stages of both innovation and operations and AUVSI is eagerly leaning into both in the new year.
Congress
Congress
AUVSI Advocacy Successes in FY 2023 Omnibus
As the industry’s leading advocacy organization, this year AUVSI has diligently advocated for appropriations priorities, across all three domains and in the commercial and defense sectors, to advance and scale the uncrewed systems and robotics industries. AUVSI both adopted our own appropriations priorities and advocated for our members’ own appropriations requests.
U.S. House passes Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant Act
On September 13, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5315 with bipartisan support.
The vote follows a letter sent to House leadership last week by an industry coalition in support of the bill and urging for a swift vote. AUVSI joined the coalition letter and advocated to Members of the House in support of bill passage.
What it is:
AUVSI’s Hill Week 2021: Advancing the Unmanned Systems Industry’s Future
The core of AUVSI’s mission is to build, grow and foster a viable and sustainable unmanned and autonomous systems industry. Critical to achieving that goal is establishing balanced and appropriate policies that support the development and expanded operation of unmanned systems.
Since the last time AUVSI and members were able to convene for Hill Day in September 2019, the unmanned systems community has made unprecedented, even transformative, progress. A worldwide audience witnessed how rapidly unmanned systems could be developed and deployed to deliver critical capabilities where they are needed most.
The JOBS Act Will Help All Americans and Reduce Workforce Shortages
Passage of the infrastructure bill is dominating headlines these days, and for good reason – it is past time that American roads, bridges, railways, and ports receive federal funding meant to rehabilitate and strengthen our infrastructure. All of that work will result in a number of new jobs, but will there be the workers to fill those roles? Congress can take meaningful action to address the current worker shortage by passing the JOBS Act, while simultaneously supporting industries that are ever-evolving and creating new jobs for Americans.
Attention Congress: Port Modernization Will Address Supply Chain Disruptions
Most of us have read more about port congestion and supply chain woes in the past few weeks than ever before, and the multitude of problems do seem quite thorny. There are record numbers of shipping vessels waiting to be unloaded, there is a lack of available truck chassis to transport containers out of the ports, and the critical details around how to efficiently implement 24/7 port operation are still being hashed out.
Congresswoman Rodgers: "This Technology is Ready"
These days, Washington, D.C. politics are topsy-turvy, but Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-05) proved yet again her support for automated driving technology, and AUVSI thanks her for being such a stalwart champion.
AUVSI Urges Congress to Support UMS Funding
As the preeminent industry voice on acquisition policies and processes impacting unmanned maritime systems, AUVSI today urged the U.S. House and Senate Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations to increase funding for key unmanned maritime systems (UMS) initiatives within the U.S. Navy.
Together, the Unmanned Maritime Autonomy Architecture (UMAA) and Rapid Integration Autonomy Lab (RAIL) fit within the Navy’s vision of accelerating autonomy, refining system requirements, and supporting testing for surface and undersea UMS.
UNMANNED SYSTEMS DEFENSE PHASE II: MARITIME
AUVSI today hosted Phase II of Unmanned Systems Defense, the association’s signature event connecting industry leaders with U.S. defense officials to advance the front line of innovation. Throughout the day’s maritime-focused programming, experts discussed the promise unmanned marine technologies hold for maintaining the U.S. military’s competitive advantage and the need to champion funding for these platforms in the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
