America is investing like never before in uncrewed systems—and the stakes have never been higher.
From Demand Signal to Deployed Capability.
Robotics and autonomous systems are no longer sit on the edge of the battlefield – they are shaping outcomes. From Ukraine to Israel to Operation Epic Fury, uncrewed and autonomous systems have moved beyond demonstration into decisive use, compressing timelines and forcing adaptation across defense strategy, procurement and deployment.
The U.S. response is historic. The FY27 budget directs more than $70 billion toward drone dominance and counter-UAS capabilities — roughly triple prior investment — anchored by the new Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems (DRPM-UxS), the Pentagon’s top-level autonomous warfare office established by Secretary Hegseth’s June 2026 directive. Under DRPM-UxS, the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG) executes as the operational force focused on testing, integrating, and fielding trusted autonomy across every domain at speed and at scale. Six executive orders are reshaping acquisition, Drone Dominance, shipbuilding, foreign military sales, air dominance, and homeland defense.
AUVSI Defense 2026 is built for this moment — and for this specific week. The forum convenes November 9-10, six days after the midterm elections, bringing together senior Administration officials, Congressional voices, military branch leaders, and defense industry executives for two days of closed-door, substantive dialogue.
Day 1: Demand Signals and Delivery Pathways — Where the Money, Missions, and Mandates Are Moving. Administration and executive order focused. Acquisition reform, drone dominance, shipbuilding, Foreign Military Sales, Golden Dome, and Counter-UAS. What the six executive orders are actually doing in practice – what is working, what is not, and what still needs to happen to field capability at war pace.
Day 2: From Integration to the Warfighter — Fielding, Sustaining, and Deploying Autonomous Systems. Congressional voices open the morning with a frank post-midterm assessment of defense innovation funding and oversight. Military branch and operational leaders carry the afternoon with a direct conversation about warfighter priorities, service requirements and what industry needs to deliver.
For those who attended AUVSI Defense in the past, the shift is unmistakable. What was once framed as potential is now defined by execution. Requirements are clearer. Timelines are shorter. The barrier is no longer just innovation – it is alignment with mission needs, trusted systems and the ability to deliver at scale.
For those joining AUVSI Defense for the first time: the demand signal is not coming. It is here. It is driven by historic funding, reinforced by executive policy, and validated in real-world operations from Ukraine to Iran.
The era of the demo is over. The era of the arsenal has begun. AUVSI Defense 2026 will help inform that transition and path forward.
The forum operates under the Chatham House Rule, closed to media and recording, and limited to citizens of the United States and allied or partner nations.
300+
Attendees
50+
Speakers
25
Expert Committee Members
The funding is real. The executive orders are signed. The warfighter is waiting. AUVSI Defense 2026 focuses on the hardest part: closing the gap between what Washington has authorized and what industry can actually deliver.
This event focuses on:
Strengthening the Uncrewed Arsenal of Democracy
Funding alone doesn’t build an arsenal. These conversations focus on what it actually takes to deliver autonomous systems at scale: navigating the new acquisition architecture under DRPM-UxS and DAWG, closing the domestic component gaps in flight controllers, motors, and PCBAs, and meeting the Office of Strategic Capital’s finance-ready bar before the contract arrives. The demand signal is historic. The question is who can deliver against it.
Integrating Autonomy Across the Joint Force and Allied Partners
Fielding autonomous systems is a joint force problem, not a single-service solution. These conversations align requirements across Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force; examine what emerging multi-domain command-and-control demands are asking of industry; address Counter-UAS from both the Golden Dome policy angle and the operational defeat angle; and bring in when possible, allied perspectives from AUKUS Pillar II to the front lines of Ukraine. The objective is not coordination in theory. It is interoperability in practice, in contested environments, at the speed the warfighter requires.
From Capture Strategy to Fielded Capability
The shift from prototype to program of record is where advantage is won or lost — and where most companies fall short. These conversations connect the acquisition reform executive orders to what small and mid-size companies need to do differently right now: which pathways are moving, what challenge-based acquisition means in practice, and what finance-ready looks like before a contract arrives. They also reflect the growing strategic importance of Foreign Military Sales, EXIM financing, and allied demand in building the industrial capacity the Department of War requires.
Program Tracks:
- Fielding at Speed: Acquisition, Transition, and the New On-Ramps
How emerging procurement vehicles, transition pathways, and the Pentagon’s evolving fielding model are reshaping what it takes to get autonomous systems bought. - Building the Arsenal: Industrial Base, Trusted Supply Chains, and Manufacturing at Scale
Closing the component gaps, financing the investments, and scaling the manufacturing capacity needed to out-produce adversaries in autonomous systems. - Follow the Funding: Budget Signals, Policy, and Where the Money Is Actually Moving
What the latest budget priorities and policy shifts signal for BD leaders, investors, and capture professionals chasing autonomous systems dollars. - Lessons from the Fight: What Active Conflicts Are Teaching the Joint Force
What recent conflicts are revealing about autonomous systems requirements, capability gaps, and development priorities for the joint force. - Operational Autonomy at the Edge: Trusted Systems in Denied, Disrupted, and Contested Environments
Delivering trusted, mission-ready autonomy across denied, disrupted, and contested environments where the margin for error is zero. - Global Pathways: Allied Demand, Export Tools, and the International Opportunity
Navigating export compliance, international financing tools, and allied procurement priorities to capture the next wave of defense autonomy demand.
Who Attends
Roles:
Defense and Industry Leaders | Program & Acquisition Managers | Policy & Government Affairs Experts | Industrial Base & Supply Chain Executives | Engineers | Innovation & R&D Leads | Business Development Professionals | Investors | Researchers | Workforce Development Leaders, Academic Faculty & Graduate Students | International Liaisons | Export Control & Compliance Specialists
Industries:
U.S. Defense & National Security Agencies | Congressional Staff & Federal Policymakers | Defense Primes & Integrators | Autonomy Startups & Emerging Tech Innovators | Commercial COTS Providers | Supply Chain & Manufacturing Firms | Investors & Venture Capital | R&D Centers, National Labs & Universities | Allied and International Defense Delegations
Hosted by the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), this is the only defense forum dedicated to aligning U.S. military priorities with the robotics and autonomous systems technologies, policies, and partners shaping the future of force readiness.
This is where readiness meets reality – and where the path to capture becomes clear. Don’t miss it.
