AUVSI Applauds Reforms to Improve Foreign Military Sales Efficiency and Advance U.S. Leadership in Uncrewed Systems

AUVSI supports efforts to streamline FMS and export rules, strengthening U.S. competitiveness in uncrewed systems.

ARLINGTON, VA, UNITED STATES, April 11, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On Wednesday evening, President Trump signed a series of Executive Orders aimed at strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base. One of those actions focused specifically on improving the speed and accountability of the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system, an issue of critical importance to the uncrewed systems (UxS) industry.

AUVSI applauds the administration’s focus on FMS reform and urges policymakers to ensure UxS are a key consideration in efforts to modernize the system and review how outdated restrictions are harming U.S. global competitiveness.

“Delays in the Foreign Military Sales process stifles the growth of the UxS industry in the United States and hamstrings our allies’ and partners’ ability to rely on American-manufactured uncrewed systems that are essential for shared mission success and global stability,” said Adriana Rivera, Director of Government Affairs for Defense at AUVSI. “We’re encouraged by this Executive Order and look forward to working with policymakers to ensure the defense enterprise can deliver secure, interoperable robotics and autonomous systems capabilities at the speed of relevance.”

Rivera recently spoke on a Congressional-focused panel at the Army Worldwide Security Assistance Conference (AWSAC), which AUVSI co-hosted alongside the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Defense Exports & Cooperation (DASA(DEC)) expanding on these topics. During the session, the outdated Congressional notification threshold was highlighted as a persistent bottleneck in the FMS process. AUVSI applauds the Executive Order’s directive to the Departments of State and Defense to issue a joint letter to Congress recommending updates to these thresholds, which have not been adjusted since 1982 and no longer reflect the cost or urgency of modern defense technologies.

The Executive Order also requires the Secretaries of State and Defense to reevaluate the United States’ implementation of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), a directive AUVSI applauds and has long advocated for. MTCR restrictions have disproportionately impacted the U.S. drone industry, limiting manufacturers’ ability to scale production and meet both domestic and allied demand, and giving other nations who do not have such restrictions on sales a competitive advantage. Reassessing how these outdated controls apply to uncrewed systems is a critical step toward restoring U.S. global competitiveness and strengthening allied interoperability.

AUVSI has consistently advocated for reforming MTCR implementation, including through its public comments to the U.S. Department of State and ongoing engagement around the AUKUS trilateral agreement. Our position remains clear: the United States must align export policy with strategic objectives and enable close allies and partners to access trusted, secure uncrewed technologies. Without reform, outdated restrictions will continue to cede market share to non-signatory competitors like China, weakening U.S. influence as well as interoperability across coalition forces.

AUVSI looks forward to engaging with the administration and Congress as these reforms take shape and remains committed to advancing policies that support national security, allied cooperation, and U.S. leadership in the uncrewed and autonomous systems sector.

You can read the full Executive Order fact sheet here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/reforming-foreign-defense-sales-to-improve-speed-and-accountability/

About AUVSI
The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of robotics and autonomous systems. With members from industry, government, and academia, AUVSI advocates and advances the safe and effective integration of uncrewed systems across air, land, and sea domains.

Casie Ocana
AUVSI
cocana@auvsi.org
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