AUVSI President & CEO Michael Robbins on the FCC’s Covered List Action on Foreign-Produced Robots

July 28, 2026

Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) added foreign-produced advanced robotic devices to its Covered List, determining that these technologies present unacceptable risks to U.S. national security and the safety of U.S. persons. Under the action, these products are no longer eligible for new equipment authorizations unless they receive a Conditional Approval from the Department of War finding that they do not pose such risks. 

AUVSI welcomes strong actions targeted against robotics companies in the People’s Republic of China (PRC)s. AUVSI has been clear and consistent: the PRC is running the same subsidize, saturate, and export playbook in robotics that it used to capture the American drone market, and the United States must act before that strategy succeeds again. Just last week, AUVSI testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in support of the GUARD Act, urging Congress to act while the window remains open. Today’s Covered List action is a concrete step in that direction. 

The threat is real and documented. Security researchers have found undocumented backdoors in Chinese quadruped platforms and Chinese humanoid robots transmitting data to servers in China, and the Department of War has placed Unitree Robotics on its list of Chinese Military Companies. A compromised laptop exposes data. A compromised robot can move, map, surveil, and physically disrupt operations in the real world. AUVSI supports strong, risk-based measures to keep adversary robotics systems that pose verified national security risks out of American critical infrastructure and networks. 

This determination also reaches other foreign-produced robots, rather than only adversary systems with verified national security risks, sweeping in trusted allies and partners who are part of the solution rather than the problem. AUVSI raised this same concern when foreign drones were addressed, and it applies with equal force here. That makes the Conditional Approval process of the utmost importance. AUVSI urges the FCC and the Department of War to make that pathway swift, transparent, and predictable, with clear criteria and firm timelines, so trusted allied systems are cleared quickly rather than stranded in review. A slow or opaque process would penalize the very partners America is counting on to build resilient supply chains, and would disrupt the manufacturers, public safety agencies, enterprise users, and defense operations that rely on trusted allied technology today. Exemptions for allied systems should be granted promptly, and where appropriate categorically, so this action strengthens security without stalling the ecosystem it is meant to protect. 

Restrictions are necessary, but they are not sufficient. The half that decides whether America leads rather than merely defends is a serious national commitment to American robotics capacity. AUVSI urges Congress to codify this action with the GUARD Act’s passage and with affirmative investment, including the National Commission on Robotics Act, the Magnets Value Chain Support Act, and the Make More in America Act. 

As an international organization representing stakeholders across the United States and allied nations, AUVSI will keep working with the FCC, the Administration, Congress, and industry to target the real risk, protect trusted partners, and build a resilient American robotics industry that leads for decades to come. 

– Michael Robbins, President and CEO, Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) 

The full public notice is available here.