CDA Praises White House for Restoring American Leadership in Commercial Drones
NEWS RELEASE
COMMERCIAL DRONE ALLIANCE
June 6, 2025
Commercial Drone Alliance Praises White House for Restoring American Leadership in Commercial Drones
Today’s Executive Orders promote innovation while enhancing security, leveling the competitive playing field for the domestic drone industry
WASHINGTON, D.C.– June 6, 2025 - The Commercial Drone Alliance (CDA) applauds the White House for issuing two Executive Orders – “Unleashing American Drone Dominance" and “Restoring American Airspace Sovereignty.” The CDA has long believed that innovation and security are two sides of the same coin. Outdated regulations have long impeded technological innovation and hindered transparency in our airspace. Today’s executive actions recognize that Americans deserve the widescale benefits offered by commercial drones while also taking steps to protect the public from rogue operators. These EOs represent a significant step in advancing both innovation and security at a time when Executive Branch leadership and decisive action is essential for restoring American leadership in advanced aviation technologies like drones.
Drone regulatory policy has consistently lagged behind the pace of technology. As a result, the domestic drone industry has been unnecessarily stifled for over a decade, causing the United States to cede its leadership in advanced aviation and autonomous systems to geopolitical adversaries.
The executive actions announced by President Trump today recognize that enabling innovation is a national security imperative, and take essential steps to eliminate regulatory burdens and facilitate the nationwide expansion of commercial drone operations. Most importantly, the EO focused on American drone dominance directs Departments and Agencies to:
- Advance the long-delayed beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) rulemaking, a deregulatory action which will level the competitive playing field for domestic drone manufacturers and operators while increasing the safety and transparency of the airspace;
- Right-size operational approval processes while rule changes are in progress to facilitate the immediate safe scaling of beneficial commercial drone operations;
- Ensure drones can operate over the high seas where the United States has jurisdiction; and
- Streamline approvals related to environmental reviews and carriage of household goods for package delivery operations.
The commercial drone industry is equally committed to operating transparently and lawfully. We share the Federal government’s desire to protect American citizens from careless, clueless, and criminal drone operators. The CDA’s goal is for the public to trust that commercial drones are being operated safely and to understand the significant value this technology brings to the country. The EO focused on airspace sovereignty includes key mandates to enhance airspace transparency and provide authorities with appropriate tools to address nefarious drone operators, including:
- Advancing the long-delayed rulemaking to prohibit rogue drones over certain sensitive fixed sites and critical infrastructure;
- Training law enforcement on the use of counter-drone technology;
- Promoting the use of technology to detect, track and identify drones in real-time; and
- Taking steps to protect stadiums and mass gathering events from rogue drones.
Lisa Ellman, Chief Executive Officer of the CDA, expressed enthusiasm: “We fully support the long-overdue steps taken by the Trump administration in these Executive Orders—establishing a framework to scale safe and secure drone operations while enhancing drone security and airspace transparency—to modernize our domestic drone policy and assure American aviation leadership into the next century of flight. The CDA has always considered innovation and security to be complementary. We look forward to working with the Administration to ensure timely execution of these critical mandates.”
“We are pleased to see this Administration take decisive action to address some of the biggest barriers to safe and scalable drone use in our country today,” added Liz Forro, Policy Director of the CDA. “These Executive Orders include several urgent initiatives, including right-sizing the federal aviation regulations for BVLOS operations, that the CDA has been championing for several years. We stand ready to support the work needed across the Federal government to swiftly implement the President’s directives.”
The CDA looks forward to supporting the Administration’s implementation of these Orders as we work collectively to unleash the full potential of wide-scale drone operations for all Americans.
About the Commercial Drone Alliance
The Commercial Drone Alliance is a non-profit organization led by key leaders in the commercial drone and advanced air mobility industries. The CDA unites a diverse group of stakeholders, including commercial drone end-users, manufacturers, service providers, advanced air mobility companies, and drone security firms. The Alliance also engages with various vertical markets such as oil and gas, precision agriculture, construction, security, communications technology, infrastructure, newsgathering, and filmmaking.
The CDA collaborates with all levels of government to advocate for policies that support industry growth. The organization also seeks to educate the public on the safe and responsible use of commercial drones, emphasizing their potential to drive economic benefits and contribute to humanitarian efforts.
Learn more at www.commercialdronealliance.org.
Media Contact: